Jessica Andersen Biography & Bibliography

Though we have our interview with Jess tomorrow, below is a great biography direct from her website.  Enjoy!

Hi all, and thanks for being interested in learning a bit about little old me.

Hm… where to start? Well, I’ve lived in New England all my life, growing up in Massachusetts and spending the past decade or so in eastern Connecticut. As a kid, I survived the 80s with no lasting scars aside from a few photos of me with spiked hair and a rat tail (and no, I’m so not posting those). During the 90s, I did a double stint at Tufts University for an undergraduate biology degree and a PhD in genetics, with a year-long break in between that can best be described as: “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up; I think I’ll do some landscaping”… followed by “um, okay; I think I’ll go back to school now.”

During grad school and for a year after, I worked at the New England Eye Center, helping search for the genetic mutations that cause glaucoma. It was very cool work, but I liked the scientific writing more than the labwork. It wasn’t until the committee head complimented my doctoral thesis by saying it “read like a mystery novel” that I admitted I was… um… writing a romantic suspense novel in my free time. A year later, I left the lab and spent the next while freelancing as a scientific editor and riding instructor while I worked on getting my writing career off the ground.

Released in October of ’03, my first Harlequin Intrigue, Dr. Bodyguard, was an RT Top Pick and kicked off a string of science-themed romantic intrigues that have hit the category bestseller lists and been nominated for Reviewers’ Choice and RITA awards. While writing the Intrigues, I kept honing my craft and submitting new ideas, hoping to make the jump from category to single title success.

I love learning about new things and rediscovering old interests- that’s the researcher in me, I suppose. So one day while I was working on a story idea, I came across a reference to Aztec serpent worship, had an ‘ooh, shiny!’ moment, and followed where the information flow led me… straight to a mention of how the Mayan calendar will end on December 21, 2012. Thus was born the Nightkeepers, and an exciting new direction in my writing!

The first of them, Nightkeepers, was a June 2008 release, and kicked off an eight-book (plus one novella) series about the modern-day magic wielders destined to save mankind from the 2012 doomsday. With appearances on various national bestseller lists, including the NY Times list, the Nightkeeper novels have been an awesome ride! Keep your eyes open for the last two of the Nightkeeper books, coming in April and November 2012.

In late 2011, I ventured into the world of Harlequin Nocturne with Royal House of Shadows: Lord of the Wolfyn, which is part of a four-book miniseries with super-authors Nalini Singh, Gena Showalter and Jill Munroe … and in 2013, be on the lookout for the start of an exciting new series!!

Bibliography

The Nightkeepers

Night Keepers
Dawn Keepers
Sky Keepers
Demon Keepers
Blood Spells
Storm Kissed
Magic Unchained
Spellfire (November 2012)

Intrigue

Bear Claw Lawman
Bear Claw Bodyguard

Harlequin Intrigues

Dr. Bodyguard
Secret Witness
Intensive Care
Body Search
Covert M.D.
The Sheriff’s Daughter
Bullseye
Ricochet
At Close Range
Rapid Fire
Red Alert
Under the Microscope
Prescription: Makeover
Classified Baby
Meet Me at Midnight