Davidson, MaryJanice

(Janice Pohl)

PERSONAL:

Married Anthony Alongi (a writer); children: two.

ADDRESSES:

Home—MN. E-mail—maryjanice@maryjanicedavidson.net.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked as a manager of operations for a brokerage firm.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Sapphire Award for Excellence in Science Fiction Romance, 2000, for story "Love's Prisoner."

WRITINGS:

NOVELS; UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

By Any Other Name, Hard Shell Word Factory (Amherst Junction, WI), 2001.

Canis Royal: Bridefight (e-book; novel), Ellora's Cave (Stow, OH), 2002.

Under Cover (stories), Brava (New York, NY), 2003.

Beggarman, Thief (e-book; novel), Loose-ID Publications (Carson City, NV), 2004.

Undead and Unwed, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2004.

Undead and Unemployed, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2004.

The Royal Treatment, Brava (New York, NY), 2004.

Undead and Unappreciated, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2005.

Undead and Unreturnable, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2005.

Derik's Bane, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2005.

Hello, Gorgeous!, Brava (New York, NY), 2005.

The Royal Pain, Brava (New York, NY), 2005.

Really Unusual Bad Boys, Brava (New York, NY), 2005.

Undead and Unpopular, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

Drop Dead, Gorgeous!, Kensington (New York, NY), 2006.

Dead and Loving It, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

Sleeping with the Fishes, Jove (New York, NY), 2006.

Dead and Uneasy, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2007.

Royal Mess, Brava (New York, NY), 2007.

Doing It Right, Brava (New York, NY), 2007.

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

Adventures of the Teen Furies, Hard Shell Word Factory (Amherst Junction, WI), 2001.

(With husband, Anthony Alongi) Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace, Berkley Jam Books (New York, NY), 2005.

(With Anthony Alongi) Jennifer Scales and the Messenger of Light, Berkley Jam Books (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Anthony Alongi) The Silver Moon Elm: A Jennifer Scales Novel, Berkley Jam Books (New York, NY), 2007.

OTHER

Also author of e-books, including novels Thief of Hearts and Love Lies Ellora's Cave (Stow, OH), and Dying for Ice Cream Fiction Works, and nonfiction, including Escape the Slush Pile, Fiction Works. Contributor of short fiction to anthologies, including Men at Work Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2004; Bite, Jove (New York, NY), 2004; Bad Boys with Expensive Toys, 2004; Cravings, Jove (New York, NY), 2004; How to Be a "Wicked"Woman, Brava (New York, NY), 2004; "Wicked" Women Whodunit, Brava (New York, NY), 2005; Charming the Snake: Savage Scavenge, Loose-ID (Carson City, NV), 2005; Romance at the Edge, Loose ID (Carson City, NV), 2005; Valentine's Day is Killing Me, Brava (New York, NY), 2006; Surf's Up, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006; Demon's Delight, Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), and Secrets, Volumes 6 and 8, Red Sage. Contributor, under pseudonym Janice Pohl, to Reunions: Four Inspiring Romance Stories of Friends Reunited.

ADAPTATIONS:

A number of Davidson's books have been adapted for audio.

SIDELIGHTS:

MaryJanice Davidson is a writer of romance novels and short stories who works within a variety of subgenres, including paranormal, science fiction, young adult, mystery, erotica, and combinations thereof. Her work often features copious helpings of humor and frank sexuality. Davidson has written extensively for publication in both print and e-book form, and the success of her e-books has helped build her print career. For instance, Undead and Unwed, a novel about a young, single, fashion-conscious female vampire, was originally published as an e-book, and it caught the attention of an editor at Berkley. After the company published the novel in print form, it released several other books by Davidson, including two sequels to Undead and Unwed.

Undead and Unwed introduces readers to Betsy Taylor, a woman who joins the undead after dying in a traffic accident. Unlike most vampires, Betsy can go out in the daytime and is not bothered by religious symbols, and these qualities make her a candidate for queen of the vampires. But she also must do battle with another candidate, an evil, five-hundred-year-old vampire named Nostro. Assisting her in this effort is Eric Sinclair, a vampire who is handsome and sexy, but who nevertheless does not appeal to Betsy. Describing the novel as a "chick-lit foray into the paranormal," Booklist critic Diana Tixier Herald dubbed the story "sexy," "funny," and "delightful."

In Undead and Unemployed, Betsy has become vampire queen, but she still needs a job in the mortal world, so she goes to work in a department store selling designer shoes. Meanwhile, she has to fight off a gang of vampire slayers and come to the aid of an enigmatic young girl. Booklist critic Herald called the story "wickedly clever and amusing." The series has continued with a number of titles, including Undead and Unreturnable, in which Betsy is writing a column for a vampire newsletter and preparing for her wedding.

Vampires are not the only supernatural creatures to appear in Davidson's writings. The hero of Derik's Bane is attractive young werewolf Derik Gardner. His wolf pack sends him on a mission to kill Morgan le Fay, the wicked enchantress of the King Arthur legends, in order to stop what the werewolves believe is Morgan's plot to destroy the world. Morgan has been reincarnated in modern-day northern California as Dr. Sara Gunn, with whom Derik falls in love after failing to kill her. Sara, at first skeptical, eventually comes to believe she is indeed Morgan, but she claims Morgan has been falsely accused of evil intentions, and she and Derik join in fighting an Arthur-worshipping cult that is truly threatening the planet. Harriet Klausner, writing in MBR Bookwatch, found Derik's Bane to be "a unique well-written romantic fantasy with a Camelot twist," adding that Derik and Sara are humorous and appealing. Herald, again reviewing for Booklist, also noted the book's comic aspects, writing that it "will elicit delighted howls of laughter."

Hello, Gorgeous! is a venture into science fiction involving a young woman who is brought back to life after a fatal car crash through the implantation of mechanical parts. The procedure gives this "bionic woman," Caitlyn James, superpowers, so the U.S. government enlists her as a secret agent, giving her a mission to track and thwart a computer hacker. Herald predicted that readers would enjoy the novel's "over-the-top humor and raunchily funny sex scenes"

In The Royal Treatment Davidson envisions an alternate reality in which the state of Alaska is an independent country ruled by a monarchy. The royals like to mingle with the common people, and one day the king brings home a rootless young woman as a bride for his eldest son, the crown prince. The woman and the prince do fall in love, but they are not wholly compatible, and they must overcome their personal differences while dealing with troubles facing the kingdom. Booklist contributor Maria Hatton deemed the book "quirky" and "fun."

The protagonist in Sleeping with the Fishes is a grumpy mermaid named Fred who can't swim and is allergic to shellfish. Davidson also began a YA paranormal series with her husband, Anthony Alongi. The first of these is Jennifer Scales and the Ancient Furnace. Jennifer is a teen who can change into a dragon twice a month. Writer Unboxed Web site interviewer Kathleen Bolton wrote that "Davidson has made a career out of taking the most feared creatures of mythology and the underworld, and putting them smack in the middle of a hilarious yarn that has the reader laughing out loud."

Bolton asked Davidson: "What draws you to the strange and fantastical?" Davidson replied: "My teeny, tiny brain. I can't write straight, guy-meets-girl romance. Just can't do it. The one time I tried, the heroine turned out to be bionic, and the hero was a cyborg. Doing It Right was as close as I came and even then, the heroine was a black belt who could break a forearm with one hand while sipping a milkshake with the other."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2004, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Undead and Unwed, p. 1274; May 1, 2004, Maria Hatton, review of The Royal Treatment, p. 1550; August, 2004, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Undead and Unemployed, p. 1908; December 1, 2004, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Derik's Bane, p. 641; February 1, 2005, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Hello, Gorgeous!, p. 948; June 1, 2005, Diana Tixier Herald, review of Undead and Unappreciated, p. 1763; October 1, 2005, Diana Tixier Herald, reviews of The Royal Pain and Undead and Unreturnable, p. 40.

Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2005, review of Undead and Unappreciated, p. 492.

MBR Bookwatch, January, 2005, Harriet Klausner, reviews of Derik's Bane and Men at Work; February, 2005, Harriet Klausner, review of Bad Boys with Expensive Toys.

Publishers Weekly, June 7, 2004, review of Cravings, p. 37; January 3, 2005, review of Bite, p. 42.

ONLINE

All About Romance,http://www.likesbooks.com/ (March 25, 2005), Megan Frampton, review of Under Cover; (August 19, 2007), Laurie, "Writer's Corner for March, 2005," interview with author.

AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (March 25, 2005), L. Watson, review of Hello, Gorgeous!

Allscifi.com,http://www.allscifi.com/ (March 25, 2005), review of Canis Royal: Bridefight.

Jennifer Scales Web site,http://www.jenniferscales.com (August 19, 2007).

MaryJanice Davidson Home Page,http://www.maryjanicedavidson.net (August 19, 2007).

Writer Unboxed,http://writerunboxed.com/ (February 16, 2007), Kathleen Bolton, interview with Davidson.