Jayne Ann Krentz

Jayne Ann Castle Krentz
Born Jayne Ann Castle
Cobb, California, USA
Pen name Jayne Castle,
Jayne Taylor,
Jayne Bentley,
Stephanie James,
Jayne Ann Krentz,
Amanda Glass,
Amanda Quick
Occupation Novelist
Nationality American
Period 1979 - present
Genres Romance, Suspense, Fantasy
Notable work(s) Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women
Spouse(s) Frank Krentz
www.krentz-quick.com

Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of New York Times bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she only uses three names. As Jayne Ann Krentz (her married name) she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her novels of historical romantic-suspense. Jayne Castle (her birth name) is reserved these days for her stories of futuristic/paranormal romantic-suspense.

Over 23 million copies of Krentz's 122 novels are in print. With Sweet Starfire, Krentz created the futuristic romance subgenre, and further expanded the boundaries of the genre in 1996 with Amaryllis, the first paranormal futuristic romantic suspense novel. She is an outspoken advocate for the romance genre and has been the recipient of the Susan Koppelman Award for Feminist Studies.

Contents

Biography

Personal life

Jayne Ann Castle was born in Cobb, California, USA.[1] Her mother, Alberta Castle, raised her and her two brothers, Stephen and James in Borrego Springs during her first 10 years.

She earned a B.A in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970.[2] Fearful that she would be unable to find a job using her degree, she elected to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University. Immediately after graduation she married Frank Krentz, an engineer, whom she had met at San Jose State. The couple moved to the Virgin Islands, where Krentz worked for a year as an elementary school librarian, a time she refers to as "an unmitigated career disaster."[1] Realizing that she enjoyed being a librarian but not the aspects of teaching that working in an elementary school required, Krentz moved into the higher levels of academia, including a stint in the Duke University library system.[1] Krentz and her husband later moved to Seattle, Washington.

Krentz has been generous in sharing her wealth with libraries. She established the Castle Humanities Fund at UCSC's University Library to allow the library to purchase additional books and has given money to 15 Seattle-area elementary schools to enhance their library budgets. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Writers Programs at the University of Washington extension program.[2][3]

Krentz is famous for her work ethic, beginning her writing by 7 am six days a week.[3] She is fond of vegetarian cooking.

Writing career

Early years

While working at Duke, Krentz began writing stories her way, combining elements of romance novels with paranormal twists. For six years she wrote and mailed proposals for new novels, consistently receiving rejection letters.[1] She claims to have tried to stop writing several times during that period, but that it became a "compulsion."[3] During this time she and her family moved to Seattle, Washington to further her husband's aerospace career.

Pseudonyms and genres

Krentz continued writing, and, in 1979, she sold her first novel, Gentle Pirate.[1] That novel and several that followed were published within various category romance lines, as that was the only method in which contemporary romance was published. As more publishers began to release single-title contemporary romances, Krentz shifted into writing only single-title novels.[4]

Her first novels were released under her birth name, Jayne Castle. An ill-informed Krentz signed a contract allowing one of her publishers to own the name, and, after leaving that publisher, Krentz was unable to use that name on new works for ten years.[1] This led to the creation of several pseudonyms, including Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Stephanie James and Amanda Glass.[1]

Although by the mid-1980s she had begun using only her married name, Jayne Ann Krentz, for all of her contemporary romance novels.[1] Her 1986 novel, Sweet Starfire was the first true futuristic romance, a subgenre that combined elements of romance novels and science fiction. The novel was a "classic road trip romance" which just happened to be set in a separate galaxy. In 1987 she published a second futuristic romance, Crystal Flame, which again allowed for a "traditional romance plot unfold[ing] in an extraordinary world."[5]

The success of these books encouraged Krentz to try to write a real historical romance with a humorous twist, which she released under the pseudonym Amanda Quick.[5]

Krentz further expanded the boundaries of the romance genre in 1996, when she began writing paranormal futuristic novels of romantic suspense. Released under her maiden name, Jayne Castle, these novels are set far in the future in a world where everyone has a psychic talent and respectable people use marriage agencies instead of choosing their own mates. As is customary in her writing, in each case the protagonists have a mystery to solve or a villain to defeat.[6]

All of her novels, regardless of their setting, are known for containing suspense, romance, and humor, and many also dwell on family relationships.[3] Psychic themes also appear throughout Krentz's work. In 2006 she began a new series, called The Arcane Society, which will include books written under both the Jayne Ann Krentz and Amanda Quick names. The books tells the stories of members of the Arcane Society for the psychically gifted, and each hero and heroine has his or her own psychic power. The books will feature a mystery for the protagonists to solve while they are learning to deal with their psychic abilities.[7] The heroes of her novels are always alpha males who are as strong and determined as her heroines.[8]

Recognition

Over 122 of her novels (all of which are romances) have been published, with 32 of them placing on the New York Times Bestseller List. In total, there are over 23 million copies of her books in print.[3] Krentz has been nominated 22 times for Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards, winning in 2004 for Falling Awake and in 1995 for Trust Me.[9] She has also received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.[9]

An outspoken advocate of the merits of romantic fiction, Krentz maintains that "[p]opular fiction encapsulates and reinforces many of our most fundamental cultural values. Romance is among the most enduring because it addresses the values of family and human emotional bonds."[3] To help educate the public about the genre she became the editor of and a contributor to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, a non-fiction essay collection that won the prestigious Susan Koppelman Award for Feminist Studies.[3] Krentz was the inspiration for, and first recipient of, the Romantic Times Jane Austen Award, created to "honor those in the romance community who have significantly impacted our genre."[10]

Jayne Ann Krentz's novel The Waiting Game was adapted for the Harlequin Romance Series teleplay in 2001. The movie starred Chris Potter with Paula Abdul in the female supporting role, directed by Vic Sarin.

Bibliography

As Jayne Castle

Category romance

Stand-alone novels

Guinevere Jones series

  1. The Desperate Game, 1986
  2. The Chilling Deception, 1986
  3. The Sinister Touch, 1986
  4. The Fatal Fortune, 1986

Curtain series

Futuristic World of St. Helen's sub-series
  1. Amaryllis, 1996
  2. Zinnia, 1997
  3. Orchid, 1998
Futuristic World of Harmony (Ghost Hunter Novels) sub-series
  1. "Bridal Jitters" in Charmed (1999) and Harmony (2000)
  2. After Dark, 2000 and in Harmony (2000)
  3. After Glow, 2004
  4. Ghost Hunter, 2006
  5. Silver Master, 2007
  6. Dark Light, 2008
  7. Obsidian Prey, 2009
Arcane Society Novels on Harmony
  1. Midnight Crystal, 2010 (Dreamlight Trilogy, Book Three)
  2. Canyons of Night, 2011 (Looking Glass Trilogy, Book Three)
Rainshadow Novels (Harmony)
  1. Canyons of Night, 2011 (Krentz admits that this is the first in a series of novels taking place on Rainshadow Island, in a letter in the book)

Arcane Society series

The Dreamlight Trilogy
  1. Fired Up, 2009 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Burning Lamp, 2010 (as Amanda Quick)
  3. Midnight Crystal, 2010
The Looking Glass Trilogy
  1. In Too Deep, 2011 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Quicksilver, 2011 (as Amanda Quick)
  3. Canyons of Night, 2011

As Jayne Taylor

Category romance

As Jayne Bentley

Category romance

As Stephanie James

Category romance

Colter series

  1. Fabulous Beast, 1984
  2. The Devil to Pay, 1985

This is not really a series. The two male characters both have the name Colter and that is the only connection. They are not related and there are no references between the two books.

As Jayne Ann Krentz

Category romance

Stand-alone novels

Lost Colony series

  1. Crystal Flame, 1986
  2. Sweet Starfire, 1986
  3. Shield's Lady, 1989 (As Amanda Glass)

Dreams duology

  1. Dream, Part One, 1988
  2. Dream, Part Two, 1988

Gifts series

  1. Gift of Gold, 1988
  2. Gift of Fire, 1989

Ladies and Legend series

  1. The Pirate, 1990
  2. The Adventurer, 1990
  3. The Cowboy, 1990

Whispering Springs series

  1. Light in Shadow, 2003
  2. Truth or Dare, 2004

Eclipse Bay series

  1. Eclipse Bay, 2000
  2. Dawn in Eclipse Bay, 2001
  3. A Summer in Eclipse Bay, 2002

Arcane Society series

Historicals
  1. Second Sight, 2006 (as Amanda Quick)
  2. The Third Circle, 2008 (as Amanda Quick)
  3. The Perfect Poison, 2009 (as Amanda Quick)
Contemporaries
  1. White Lies, 2007
  2. Sizzle and Burn, 2008
  3. Running Hot, 2008 (ties-in with Eclipse Bay series)
The Dreamlight Trilogy
  1. Fired Up (2009)
  2. Burning lamp (2010) (as Amanda Quick)
  3. Midnight Crystal (2010) (as Jayne Castle)
The Looking Glass Trilogy
  1. In Too Deep (2010)
  2. Quicksilver (2011) (as Amanda Quick)
  3. Canyons of Night (2011) (as Jayne Castle)

Dark Legacy series

  1. Copper Beach (pub date 01/12/2012)

As Amanda Glass

Lost Colony series

  1. Crystal Flame, 1986 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Sweet Starfire, 1986 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  3. Shield's Lady, 1989

As Amanda Quick

Stand-alone novels

Vanza Series

  1. With This Ring, 1998/04
  2. I Thee Wed, 1999/04
  3. Wicked Widow, 2000/04
  4. Lie by Moonlight, 2005/05

Lake & March trilogy

  1. Slightly Shady, 2001/04
  2. Don't Look Back, 2002/04
  3. Late for the Wedding, 2003/04

Arcane Society series

Historicals
  1. Second Sight, 2006
  2. The Third Circle, 2008
  3. The Perfect Poison, 2009
Contemporanies
  1. White Lies, 2007 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Sizzle and Burn, 2008 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  3. Running Hot (as Jayne Ann Krentz, ties-in with Eclipse Bay series)
The Dreamlight Trilogy
  1. Fired Up (2009) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Burning Lamp (2010)
  3. Midnight Crystal (2010) (as Jayne Castle)
The Looking Glass Trilogy
  1. In Too Deep (2010) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
  2. Quicksilver (2011)
  3. Canyons of Night (2011) (as Jayne Castle)

Ladies of Lantern Street series

  1. Crystal Gardens (April 2012)

Non-fiction

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Webster, Dan (January 7, 2004). "Jayne Ann Krentz". SpokesmanReview.com. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/interactive/bookclub/interviews/interview.asp?IntID=17. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  2. ^ a b McKenna, Barbara (February 3, 1997). "USC alumna and best-selling romance novelist establishes library endowment". University of southern California Currents. http://www.ucsc.edu/oncampus/currents/97-02-03/krentz.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g White, Claire E. (January 2003). "Conversation with Jayne Ann Krentz". Writers Write. http://www.writerswrite.com/journal/dec02/krentz.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-25. 
  4. ^ "Interview with Jayne Ann Krentz". A Romance Review. January 2006. http://www.aromancereview.com/interviews/jayneannkrentz.phtml. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  5. ^ a b Gelsomino, Tara (2002). "Review of Smoke in Mirrors". Romantic Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20071004201147/http://www.romantictimes.com/books_review.php?cameo=1&book=14972. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  6. ^ Krentz, Jayne Ann (1996). "Cameo/Exceprt from Amaryllis". Romantic Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20071004231644/http://www.romantictimes.com/books_review.php?cameo=1&book=2080. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  7. ^ Levy, Faygie (2007). "Review of White Lies". Romantic Times. Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. http://web.archive.org/web/20071005015722/http://www.romantictimes.com/books_review.php?cameo=1&book=30940. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  8. ^ Samuel, Barbara (February 2007). "Versatile Jayne Ann Krentz creates past, present, and future of romance". Book Page. http://www.bookpage.com/0702bp/jayne_ann_krentz.html. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  9. ^ a b "Author Profile: Jayne Ann Krentz". Romantic Times. 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20071004210836/http://www.romantictimes.com/authors_profile.php?author=251. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 
  10. ^ "Pen Names". Romantic Times. 1997. Archived from the original on 2007-10-04. http://web.archive.org/web/20071004231712/http://www.romantictimes.com/authors_tip.php?tip=76. Retrieved 2007-07-26. 

External links

Jayne Ann Krentz is now on face book