J.A. Jance releases new book

New York Times bestselling mystery author, J.A. Jance, has a new book out. Jance discusses the book which is titled, “Collateral Damage” and is the next in her Ali Reynolds series.

Her career has spanned four decades and more than 21 million copies of her books are in print. She also has other mystery series including one set in the Southwest. She was raised in Bisbee and now lives in Seattle.

When you release a new book does it still feel special?

“Well this one feels especially special. I started writing in the middle of March in 1982, and this is my 64th published book. If you do the math, I’ve been writing 1.5 books a year for 40 years. This one took a whole year to write; I’ve never taken a whole year to write a book. It was wonderful when it came out, because it was a struggle to write but people really seemed to be enjoying it,” said Jance.

Do you learn something about yourself or every book when you write?

“Actually I do learn something, and I learned something about the characters. I just realized long after I had finished writing “Collateral Damage,” part of the plot of that involves an instant traffic incident on I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff, which results in a major brush fire and closes down the freeway in both directions,” said Jance.

She further explains that she herself was late to a book signing event because an accident had caused the freeway to be close just like in her book. “I didn’t realize at the time I was writing that that I was putting a piece of my own history into that book,” said Jance.

Have you sat back and marveled about how many books you’ve written?

“When I wrote that first book, I thought I was writing a book and when they bought it as a series I was surprised. I’m just now starting Beaumont number 27, so yes, I am pretty much amazed,” said Jance.