Janet Nichols Lynch (born October 3, 1952) is the author of eight books, including a novel, a short story collection, three young adult novels, one juvenile novel, and two nonfiction books about music. Janet was born and raised in Sacramento, California. Her father was William Nichols, a refrigeration engineer, and her mother was Lena Graifenberg Nichols, a homemaker. She has one older sister, Joyce. In 1984 Janet’s first published short story appeared in
The New Yorker, and since then her fiction has been included in
Seventeen,
The San Joaquin Review,
The Baltimore Review, Confrontation, Writer’s Forum, and the anthology of California writers
Highway 99: a Literary Journey through California’s Great Central Valley. For the past thirteen years, Janet has read her fiction on Valley Public Radio’s (KVPR, Fresno and KVPX Bakersfield FM 89.3)
Valley Writers Read, hosted by Franz Weinschenk.
Janet received a B.A. in Music from [[California State University, Sacramento]], a Master of Music Degree in Piano from [[Arizona State University]], and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from [[California State University, Fresno]], where she was the 2003 Outstanding Thesis Award Nominee for the College of Arts and Humanities. She has taught music at De Anza College, Cupertino, and Skyline College, San Bruno, and music and English at College of the Sequoias, Visalia; currently she teaches English at El Diamante High school. She competes in marathons and triathlons, and once rode her bike from Phoenix, AZ to Washington, D.C. She lives in Visalia with her husband, Timothy Lynch. They have two grown children, Caitlin and Sean.
Addicted to Her young adult novel (Holiday House, 2010)
Chest Pains novel (Bridge Works, 2009)
Messed Up young adult novel (Holiday House, 2009)ALA 2010 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Peace is a Four Letter Word young adult novel (Heyday Books, 2005)
Where Words Leave off Music Begins stories (2004)
Casey Wooster's Pet Care Service juvenile novel (Atheneum, 1993)
Women Music Makers nonfiction (Walker, 1992)
American Music Makers nonfiction (Walker, 1990)