Get to Know the Author: Jen Stephens
"Jen Stephens bursts on the literary scene with a warmth and charm that shines through her writing right into the reader's heart."
~Kathi Macias, award-winning author of My Son, John.
Jen Stephens grew up in a small Ohio town where she developed a passion for writing at an early age. She participated in Young Authors contests in grade school, wrote her first novel in high school, and wrote dozens of poems and short stories in between. After high school, she majored in elementary education with a concentration in English and the humanities at the University of Toledo. Jen currently resides near her hometown where she teaches, is serving as Publishing Liaison and Event Coordinator for Writing Career Coach, is becoming active in her new church, and loves spending time with her family, especially her two beauiful daughters. She writes in her "spare" time. Her first novel, The Heart's Journey Home, released in February 2010. Her second book - the next installment in the Harvest Bay Series - The Heart's Lullaby, will release in October 2012, and The Heart's Hostage is anticipated for late 2014.
18 Random Tidbits
1. I was born and raised near Sandusky, Ohio. It was great except for in the summertime when Cedar Point opened and traffic was a nightmare!
2. I am second out of four girls, and my three sisters are also my very best friends!
3. My school was so small I went to grades K-12th all in the same building. A breezeway separated the elementary from the high school. I LOVED it!
4. I've been blessed with two beautiful little girls - Alison (11) and Olivia (8) - who are exact opposites. Ali has straight hair and Livi has tight corkscrew curls . . . and that's just where the differences begin!
5. I'm a total country girl. I'm talking walking barefoot out to the garden to pick and eat a tomato standing right there!
6. Along those lines, I was in 4-H for several years and raised rabbits - New Zealands and Californians. I got grandchampion showmanship on a pretty little Californian named Daisy the first year I showed. I can still "flip" one to this day! And I still remember the DREAD of having to feed and water 30+ rabbits!
7. By day I'm a teacher - have been for going on 12 years now - and there couldn't possibly be a more fulfilling, yet challenging, career.
8. By night I'm a writer. It's my creative outlet, has been since grade school. People have asked me, "How can you teach and be a mom and still have time to write?" I shrug and say, "Some people scrapbook. Some knit. I write." I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to share my stories with others.
9. I wish I was organized, but I'm not, and I despise people that are! Just kiddin'!
10. I've read lots and lots of great books (Visit www.sheafhouse.com for a long list of wonderful reads!) but my very favorite book ever is the Bible. Really, it's the greatest love story ever written. Can't get better than that!Charlotte's Web gets the second place ribbon. It's a classic story of the beauty of true friendship. *Sigh!*
11. My very favorite movie of all time is Forrest Gump! A close second is The Miracle Worker (the original with Patty Duke), and coming in at third would have to beSteel Magnolias.
12. My biggest addiction is coffee! Seriously. I have a problem.
13. I am a true romantic. I mean fairytale romantic. It's sad, I know, because in this day and age I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but I'm a sucker for a great love story.
14. I have a "bucket list" some of which includes: going whale watching in Alaska, visiting Pearl Harbor, bringing in a new year in Times Square, and spending a Memorial Day in Washington D.C..
15. I have recurrent nightmares about two things: tornadoes, and flying in an airplane. (Makes #14 a challenge, I know.)
16. I've been cross country skiing, down hill skiing, and water skiing and I'm not good at any of them! (Guess that's the reason God didn't give us skis as feet!)
17. Speaking of feet, mine are the worst ever! Flat, flat, flat with bunyons, and . . . well, do I really need to go on?
18. Last one. Hmmmm. I really think that I'm just an ordinary gal who has been richly blessed by the many extraordinary people in her life.
