I write both romance and women's fiction, and I write in both genres because the stories matter, because women matter and families matter, and love matters very, very much. I love the very strong heroes because I grew up with some really strong women in my family. Even today, it has continued to surprise me that men sometimes are a bit baffled that I want to be so successful, that I have ambition, that I'm willing to work this hard.

Jane talks about being a writer, and many other things... Please enjoy this recent interview:

Read more of Jane's story below:

I'm a small town girl at heart. Born in Visalia, California, I love central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and the miles of farmland. In my mind, there's nothing sweeter in the world than the heady fragrance of orange blossoms on a sultry summer night.

As a little girl I spent hours on my bed, staring out the window, dreaming of far off places, fearless knights, and happy-ever-after endings. In my imagination I was never the geeky bookworm with the thick coke-bottle glasses, but a princess, a magical fairy, a Joan-of-Arc crusader.

My parents fed my imagination by taking our family to Europe for a year when I was thirteen. The year away changed me (I wasn't a geek for once!) and overseas I discovered a huge and wonderful world with different cultures and customs. I loved everything about Europe, but felt especially passionate about Italy and those gorgeous Italian men (no wonder my very first Presents was Italian).

I confess, after that incredible year in Europe, the travel bug bit, and bit hard. I spent much of my high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. South Africa remains a country of my heart, the people, the land and politics complex and heart-wrenching.

After my years of traveling and studying I had to settle down and earn a living. With my Bachelors degree from UCLA in American Studies, a program that combines American literature and American history, I've worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of a non-profit foundation. Later I earned my Masters in Writing from the University of San Francisco and taught jr. high and high school English.

After sixteen years in Greater Seattle, I'm back in California, making my home in a historic Ole Hanson home in San Clemente, with my surfer husband and three very active sons. I love being near the beach and being able to walk everywhere, but I also love being at my desk, writing stories about women and our lives, as well as the need to love, and be loved. I like a story with a happy ending. But then, I believe, we all do.

Jane with good friends and Tule founding authors Lilian Darcy and Megan Crane/Caitlin Crews... And that loveliest of ladies: The RWA RITA, won for Take Me, Cowboy, July 2014