Now it’s time to learn more about the authors we read. . .

What drew you to the genre you write?
I’m actually a big science fiction and fantasy fan, so that’s what I like to write. As a teenager, I discovered Ray Bradbury’s work and became a big fan. I especially like The Martian Chronicles and Something Wicked This Way Comes. But when my own fantasy books didn’t go anywhere, I changed over to mystery and used many of the supernatural elements in my mystery books.

What’s the quirkiest quirk one of your characters has?
Teddy Ballard in Ghost Light always feels compelled to count birds that fly over or are sitting on a wire.

Tell us how you got into writing?
I have been writing ever since I can remember. When I was little, I thought writing was something everybody did.

What jobs have you held before, during and/or after you became a writer?
Salesgirl in a bakery (everyone should work with the public and their food at least once). Elementary school librarian. Reading to small children is a pretty good job.

How many books do you have published?
Twenty-three. Still can’t believe it.

Where do you write?
I have an office in my downstairs apartment.

What is your ideal time to write?
In the mornings between eight and eleven

What is your favorite deadline snack?
Those fluorescent orange peanut butter crackers and Coke

What’s your favorite genre to read?
Fantasy, especially if it has some humor.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
I used to teach kick boxing.

What is your favorite beverage to end the day?
Very sweet iced tea – I drink it all day.

Who is an author you admire?
Terry Pratchett is my favorite author. I really admire how he can blend humor, satire, drama, and even pathos in the same book. I came into Discworld by way of The Truth, but my favorite Pratchett book is Going Postal.

Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?
Don’t ever give up. It took me 37 years to get published, although beginning writers have many more options today than I did all those years ago.

What are you reading now?
The Iron Druid series by Kevin Hearne.

What is next for you?
Book number twenty-four, Never Let Her Go, book 10 in the Grace Street Series, will be out by the end of this year. And I’m working on a sequel to Ghost Light, which I’m planning to call Glad Rag Doll.

Where can we find you?
My website at janetesh.com, on Facebook at Grace Street Mystery Series, and on Amazon at author/janetesh.

Now to have some fun . . .

Breakfast, lunch, or dinner
Breakfast

Fruits or vegetables
Fruits

Chocolate, vanilla, or another flavor
Chocolate

Sweet or salty snacks
Salty

Ice cream or cake
Ice cream

Cooking or baking
Baking

Dining in or dining out
Dining in

City life or country living
City life

Beach or mountain
Beach

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall
Fall

Extrovert or introvert
Introvert

Early bird or night owl
Early bird

And even more fun . . .

What’s your favorite movie?
Brazil – because it fooled me

You are stranded on a deserted island. What are your three must-haves?
A big stack of spiral notebooks
A large supply of pencils
Chocolate

My bio:
Jane Tesh, a retired media specialist, lives in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, Andy Griffith’s home town, the real Mayberry. She is the author of the Madeline Maclin Mysteries, featuring former beauty queen, Madeline “Mac” Maclin and her reformed con man husband, Jerry Fairweather, and the Grace Street Mystery Series, featuring struggling PI David Randall, his psychic friend, Camden, and an array of tenants who move in and out of Cam’s boarding house at 302 Grace Street. Ghost Light is her first standalone mystery and the first to feature an asexual heroine. She has also published six fantasy novels. When she isn’t writing, Jane plays the piano and conducts the orchestra for productions at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.