Adams, Jane

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Adams, Jane

PERSONAL: Born in Leicester, England; married; two children.

ADDRESSES: Home—Leicester, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Allison & Busby Ltd., Bon Marche Centre, 241 Ferndale Rd., London SW9 8BJ, England. E-mail—janeannadams@mail.com.

CAREER: Novelist and educator. Worked variously, including as barmaid, folk rock lead singer, darkroom technician, and customer advisor for a building society; Vaughn College, University of Leicester, Leicester, England, part-time writing teacher.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Bird, Macmillan (London, England), 1997.

Dangerous to Know, Allison & Busby (London, England), 2004.

A Kiss Goodbye, Allison & Busby (London, England), 2005.

"MIKE CROFT" NOVEL SERIES

The Greenway, Macmillan (London, England), 1995.

Cast the First Stone, Macmillan (London, England), 1996.

Fade to Grey, Macmillan (London, England), 1998.

Final Frame, Macmillan (London, England), 1999.

"RAY FLOWERS" NOVEL SERIES

The Angel Gateway, Macmillan (London, England), 2000.

Like Angels Falling, Macmillan (London, England), 2001.

Angel Eyes, Macmillan (London, England), 2002.

"NAOMI BLAKE" NOVEL SERIES

Mourning the Little Dead, Severn House Publishers (Sutton, Surrey, England), 2002.

Touching the Dark, Severn House Publishers (Sutton, Surrey, England), 2003.

Heatwave, Severn House Publishers (Sutton, Surrey, England), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS: When her younger son entered school, Jane Adams used her free time to write stories, primarily science fiction, horror, and mysteries. As she told an interviewer for the Write Words Web site, "I guess, the truth is, I must have been waiting to do this and just not realized it." She has gone on to produce a number of novels, primarily mysteries, including her "Naomi Blake" series. These feature a policewoman who is forced to retire from the force when she is blinded in an accident. Still a detective at heart, Naomi decides to pursue an old case from her own childhood in Mourning the Little Dead. Twenty-three years earlier her best friend, Helen, had disappeared, and together with Helen's brother, Naomi pursues the dusty trail of clues to their startling conclusion.

In Heatwave Naomi finds herself in the middle of a hostage crisis; what begins as a simple trip to the bank becomes a highly charged situation when bank robbers burst in and a would-be hero policeman traps them inside with the customers. To make matters worse, Naomi soon realizes that she has tangled with one of the robbers before, and she hopes he does not recognize the former policewoman who once thwarted his plans. For Booklist reviewer Emily Melton, "Good writing, a unique heroine, and an inventive plot add up to a very readable thriller."

Adams told CA: "I first started writing seriously when my youngest child went to school. It was, at the time, purely on impulse, though, looking back, I've always told stories, changed the ending of films, that sort of thing. Once the floodgates had opened, it was impossible to close them again. My first published stories were fantasy and gothic horror.

"As for my favourite book, I have great affection for The Greenway, being the first. Bird, because there were elements of my father's story in there and The Angel Gateway because I had to wait several years from conception of the idea until I'd developed the skills to write it. I'm very fond of the central characters, Ray Flowers and Sarah Gordon.

"Ultimate favourite is a crime/fantasy crossover I'm revising at the moment. It's called Priest and is first of a four-part series collectively entitled Swordweaver.

"I have learnt that different people take different things away from the books, so I no longer try to second guess. I hope, as a writer, to entertain and inform but, ultimately, the reader is the other half of the partnership and what they take away largely depends on what part of themselves they've brought to the party."