Meeting Jayne Ann Krentz

JAYNE ANN KRENTZ alias JAYNE CASTLE alias

AMANDA QUICK

I was fortunate recently to have an upfront and personal encounter with this lovely lady. She was on a Holland America cruise that took in the east coast of Australia as well as New Zealand, and I’m sure many an avid reader or writer of the romantic suspense genre will also mention the fact that they, too, attended a book signing with their favourite author.

I’ve many times mentioned that Jayne, in all her guises, is far and away my favourite author. She has a unique ability to stay true to her core story as the setting changes from the past, (Crystal Gardens) to the present, (Copper Beach) to the future (Dark Light). Her heroes are staunch but misunderstood until they link up with heroines who understand them because they, too, have qualities that which are not generally appreciated. And another unique talent that Jayne has is to link family traits down through the generations e.g. the Coppersmiths.

I've attached one of Jayne's book covers, something else Jayne chooses well. I'm not a fan of hot clinches on the covers of books, and I feel that Jayne's covers are classy and depict the romantic suspense genre accurately and with a little mystique. 

However, the most important comment (in my view) that Jayne made during her talk was that she always tries to remain true to her core story and core characterisations. And in a flash it hit me why I was having so much trouble finishing a story I’ve been writing aimed at the Lobster Cove section for the Wild Rose Press. Because I’m heavily into suspense and mystery I’ve allowed myself to get side-tracked into that side of the book and can’t wind it up satisfactorily. I’ve meandered away from my core story.

Thank you, Jayne, although you’ll never know that you helped me in this respect.