Personal life

Jayne Ann Castle was born in Cobb, California, USA. Her mother, Alberta Castle, raised her and her two brothers, Stephen and James in Borrego Springs during her first 10 years.

She earned a B.A in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1970. Fearful that she would be unable to find a job using her degree, she elected to obtain a Masters degree in Library Science from San Jose State University. Immediately after graduation she married Frank Krentz, an engineer, whom she had met at San Jose State. The couple moved to the Virgin Islands, where Krentz worked for a year as an elementary school librarian, a time she refers to as "an unmitigated career disaster." Realizing that she enjoyed being a librarian but not the aspects of teaching that working in an elementary school required, Krentz moved into the higher levels of academia, including a stint in the Duke University library system. Krentz and her husband later moved to Seattle, Washington.

Krentz has been generous in sharing her wealth with libraries. She established the Castle Humanities Fund at UCSC's University Library to allow the library to purchase additional books and has given money to 15 Seattle-area elementary schools to enhance their library budgets. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the Writers Programs at the University of Washington extension program.

Krentz is famous for her work ethic, beginning her writing by 7 am six days a week. She is fond of vegetarian cooking.

Writing career

Early years

While working at Duke, Krentz began writing stories her way, combining elements of romance novels with paranormal twists. For six years she wrote and mailed proposals for new novels, consistently receiving rejection letters. She claims to have tried to stop writing several times during that period, but that it became a "compulsion." During this time she and her family moved to Seattle, Washington to further her husband's aerospace career.

Pseudonyms and genres

Krentz continued writing, and, in 1979, she sold her first novel, Gentle Pirate. That novel and several that followed were published within various category romance lines, as that was the only method in which contemporary romance was published. As more publishers began to release single-title contemporary romances, Krentz shifted into writing only single-title novels.

Her first novels were released under her birth name, Jayne Castle. An ill-informed Krentz signed a contract allowing one of her publishers to own the name, and, after leaving that publisher, Krentz was unable to use that name on new works for ten years. This led to the creation of several pseudonyms, including Jayne Taylor, Jayne Bentley, Stephanie James and Amanda Glass.

Although by the mid-1980s she had begun using only her married name, Jayne Ann Krentz, for all of her contemporary romance novels. Her 1986 novel, Sweet Starfire was the first true futuristic romance, a subgenre that combined elements of romance novels and science fiction. The novel was a "classic road trip romance" which just happened to be set in a separate galaxy. In 1987 she published a second futuristic romance, Crystal Flame, which again allowed for a "traditional romance plot unfold[ing] in an extraordinary world."

The success of these books encouraged Krentz to try to write a real historical romance with a humorous twist, which she released under the pseudonym Amanda Quick.

Krentz further expanded the boundaries of the romance genre in 1996, when she began writing paranormal futuristic novels of romantic suspense. Released under her maiden name, Jayne Castle, these novels are set far in the future in a world where everyone has a psychic talent and respectable people use marriage agencies instead of choosing their own mates. As is customary in her writing, in each case the protagonists have a mystery to solve or a villain to defeat.

All of her novels, regardless of their setting, are known for containing suspense, romance, and humor, and many also dwell on family relationships. Psychic themes also appear throughout Krentz's work. In 2006 she began a new series, called The Arcane Society, which will include books written under both the Jayne Ann Krentz and Amanda Quick names. The books tells the stories of members of the Arcane Society for the psychically gifted, and each hero and heroine has his or her own psychic power. The books will feature a mystery for the protagonists to solve while they are learning to deal with their psychic abilities. The heroes of her novels are always alpha males who are as strong and determined as her heroines.

Recognition

Over 122 of her novels (all of which are romances) have been published, with 32 of them placing on the New York Times Bestseller List. In total, there are over 23 million copies of her books in print. Krentz has been nominated 22 times for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, winning in 2004 for Falling Awake and in 1995 for Trust Me. She has also received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.

An outspoken advocate of the merits of romantic fiction, Krentz maintains that "[p]opular fiction encapsulates and reinforces many of our most fundamental cultural values. Romance is among the most enduring because it addresses the values of family and human emotional bonds." To help educate the public about the genre she became the editor of and a contributor to Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance, a non-fiction essay collection that won the prestigious Susan Koppelman Award for Feminist Studies. Krentz was the inspiration for, and first recipient of, the Romantic Times Jane Austen Award, created to "honor those in the romance community who have significantly impacted our genre."

Jayne Ann Krentz's novel The Waiting Game was adapted for the Harlequin Romance Series teleplay in 1998. The movie starred Chris Potter with Paula Abdul in the female supporting role, directed by Vic Sarin.

As Jayne Castle

Category romance

• Vintage of Surrender, 1979
• Queen of Hearts, 1979
• Gentle Pirate, 1980
• Bargain with the Devil, 1981
• Right of Possession, 1981
• Wagered Weekend, 1981
• A Man's Protection, 1982
• A Negotiated Surrender, 1982
• Affair of Risk, 1982
• Power Play, 1982
• Relentless Adversary, 1982
• Spellbound, 1982
• Conflict of Interest, 1983

Stand-alone novels

• Double Dealing, 1984
• Trading Secrets, 1985

Guinevere Jones series

1. The Desperate Game, 1986
2. The Chilling Deception, 1986
3. The Sinister Touch, 1986
4. The Fatal Fortune, 1986

Curtain series

Futuristic World of St. Helen's sub-series

1. Amaryllis, 1996
2. Zinnia, 1997
3. Orchid, 1998

Futuristic World of Ghost Hunters sub-series

1. "Bridal Jitters" in Charmed (1999) and Harmony (2000)
2. After Dark, 2000 and in Harmony (2000)
3. After Glow, 2004
4. Ghost Hunter, 2006
5. Silver Master, 2007
6. Dark Light, 2008
7. Obsidian Prey, 2009

As Jayne Taylor

Category romance

• Whirlwind Courtship, 1979

As Jayne Bentley

Category romance

• A Moment Past Midnight, 1979
• Hired Husband, 1979
• Maiden of the Morning, 1979
• Sabrina's Scheme, 1979
• Turning Toward Home, 1979

As Stephanie James

Category romance

• A Passionate Business, 1981
• Corporate Affair, 1982
• Dangerous Magic, 1982
• Lover in Pursuit, 1982
• Reckless Passion, 1982
• Renaissance Man, 1982
• Stomy Challenge, 1982
• Velvet Touch, 1982
• Affair of Honor, 1983
• Battle Prize, 1983
• Body Guard, 1983
• Gamemaster, 1983
• Price of Surrender, 1983
• Raven's Prey, 1983
• Serpent in Paradise, 1983
• The silver Snare, 1983
• To Tame the Hunter, 1983
• Gambler's Woman, 1984
• Night of the Magician, 1984
• Nightwalker, 1984
• Golden Goddess, 1985
• Wizard, 1985
• Cautious Lover, 1986
• Green Fire, 1986
• Second Wife, 1987
• Saxon's Lady, 1987
• The Challoner Bride, 1987

Colter series

1. Fabulous Beast, 1984
2. The Devil to Pay, 1985

This is not really a series. The two male characters both have the name Colter and that is the only connection. They are not related and there are no references between the two books.

As Jayne Ann Krentz

Category romance

• Uneasy Alliance, 1984
• Call It Destiny, 1984
• Ghost of a Chance, 1984
• Man With a Past, 1985
• Witchcraft, 1985
• Legacy, 1985
• The Waiting Game, 1985
• True Colors, 1986
• The Ties That Bind, 1986
• Between the Lines, 1986
• The Family Way, 1987
• The Main Attraction, 1987
• The Chance of a Lifetime, 1987
• Test of Time, 1987
• Full Bloom, 1988
• Joy, 1988
• A Woman's Touch, 1989
• Lady's Choice, 1989
• To Wild To Wed?, 1991
• The Wedding Night, 1991
• The Private Eye, 1992

Stand-alone novels

• Twist of Fate, 1986
• A Coral Kiss, 1987
• Midnight Jewels, 1987
• Golden Chance, 1990
• Silver Linings, 1991
• Sweet Fortune, 1991
• Family Man, 1992
• Perfect Partners, 1992
• Hidden Talents, 1993
• Wildest Hearts, 1993
• Grand Passion, 1994
• "Connecting Rooms" in Everlasting Love, 1995 & in Hearts Desire, 1998
• Trust Me, 1995
• Absolutely, Positively, 1996
• Deep Waters, 1997
• Flash, 1998
• Sharp Edges, 1998
• Eye of the Beholder, 1999
• Lost & Found, 2000
• Soft Focus, 2000
• Smoke in Mirrors, 2002
• Dangerous Affair, 2004
• Falling Awake, 2004
• No Going Back, 2004
• All Night Long, 2005

Lost Colony series

1. Crystal Flame, 1986
2. Sweet Starfire, 1986
3. Shield's Lady, 1989 (As Amanda Glass)

Dreams duology

1. Dream, Part One, 1988
2. Dream, Part Two, 1988

Gifts series

1. Gift of Gold, 1988
2. Gift of Fire, 1989

Ladies and Legend series

1. The Pirate, 1990
2. The Adventurer, 1990
3. The Cowboy, 1990

Whispering Springs series

1. Light in Shadow, 2003
2. Truth or Dare, 2004

Eclipse Bay series

1. Eclipse Bay, 2000
2. Dawn in Eclipse Bay, 2001
3. A Summer in Eclipse Bay, 2002
4. All three published together in collection Together in Eclipse Bay, 2003

Arcane Society series

Historicals

1. Second Sight, 2006 (as Amanda Quick)
2. The Third Circle, 2008 (as Amanda Quick)
3. The Perfect Poison, 2009 (as Amanda Quick)

Contemporanies

1. White Lies, 2007
2. Sizzle and Burn, 2008
3. Running Hot, 2008 (ties-in with Eclipse Bay series)

In Dreamlight trilogy

1. Fired Up (2009) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Burning lamp (2010) (as Amanda Quick)
3. Midnight Crystal (pub date 08/31/2010) (as Jayne Castle)

In Looking Glass trilogy

1. In Too Deep (pub date 12/28/2010) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Quicksilver (pub date 05/01/2011) (as Amanda Quick)

As Amanda Glass

Lost Colony series

1. Crystal Flame, 1986 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Sweet Starfire, 1986 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
3. Shield's Lady, 1989

As Amanda Quick

Stand-alone novels

• Seduction, 1990/02
• Surrender, 1990/09
• Scandal, 1991/02
• Rendevouz, 1991/10
• Ravished, 1992/06
• Reckless, 1992/12
• Dangerous, 1993/05
• Deception, 1993/07
• Desire, 1993/12
• Mistress, 1994/07
• Mystique, 1995/01
• Mischief, 1996/08
• Affair, 1997/06
• With This Ring, 1998/04
• The Paid Companion, 2004/05
• Wait Until Midnight, 2005
• The River Knows, 2007

Vanza Series

1. With This Ring, 1998/04
2. I Thee Wed, 1999/04
3. Wicked Widow, 2000/04
4. Lie by Moonlight, 2005/05

Lake & March trilogy

1. Slightly Shady, 2001/04
2. Don't Look Back, 2002/04
3. Late for the Wedding, 2003/04

Arcane Society series

Historicals

1. Second Sight, 2006
2. The Third Circle, 2008
3. The Perfect Poison, 2009

Contemporanies

1. White Lies, 2007 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Sizzle and Burn, 2008 (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
3. Running Hot (as Jayne Ann Krentz, ties-in with Eclipse Bay series)

In Dreamlight trilogy

1. Fired Up (2009) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Burning Lamp (2010)
3. Midnight Crystal (pub date 08/31/2010) (as Jayne Castle)

In Looking Glass trilogy

1. In Too Deep (pub date 12/28/2010) (as Jayne Ann Krentz)
2. Quicksilver (pub date 05/01/2011)

Non-fiction

• Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women: Romance Writers on the Appeal of the Romance (also edited)