The Long Story... 

Where Jen writes about herself as if she was a character in one of her books.

Have you ever noticed how some girls sparkle? How they walk down the school hallways setting off confetti bombs of excitement? Jen is not one of those girls. Never has been, never will be. She's the kind of girl who hangs off to the side, thinking and writing about what she sees. 

When Jen was in fifth grade her family moved cities. At her new school a group of older girls decided that Jen looked like a dog. They barked at her in the hallways and called her Rover. It was no big deal! Jen was totally cool with it! So cool, in fact, that she didn't tell a single adult about it for twenty five whole years. Because really, she could handle it! 

Jen got married and became a mother to three wonderful, silly, creative girls. She wrote for magazines, for herself, and for her daughters. One snowy day, a character popped into Jen's head. The character was twelve years old. She was sad because her best friend had moved away and she was left behind to face a group of girls who -you guessed it- barked at her and called her Rover.

Jen told herself she was writing the character's story for her daughters. But really, she was writing it for herself. That book became her first published novel, OUT OF PLACE.

Because here's the thing, when Jen's writing she feels sparkly and glittery and alive. When her writing is going well, confetti bombs explode from her keyboard. And when it's not going well, she's learned to keep typing. Because some days are exciting and some are really, really hard. And sometimes the hardest days inspire the best stories.

 Jen's greatest hope is that when readers read her books, they feel some of her sparkle and some of her pain. But most of all, that they will know they are not alone.