I was born in Pasadena, California, grew up
on islands—first Balboa Island in CA, then Guam in the Pacific. Back to CA for college,
married a Geology student and followed him to Washington DC while he did 5
years in the Army. I worked at the National Geographic while there, came back
to CA while my husband finished his degree in Geochemistry, began a degree
myself in Library Science, but got preggers and began to focus on babies. Much
more fun!
I’ve always been a writer, one way or
another. I didn’t begin making it my full time endeavor until I had young
children and wanted to find a way to make a decent living and yet be able to
stay home with my four little ones. Romance was selling—isn’t it always? And
after a lot of reading and a lot of writing, I began to sell my stories, first
to Jove’s Second Chance at Love, then to Harlequin, Silhouette, Bantam,
Dell—anyone who would have me! I got some rights back to old books about three
years ago, left traditional publishing, rewrote those books and self published
them.
Now I’m writing cozy mysteries. I’ve got
three different series going. It all began with Mele Keahi, my half Hawaiian
amateur sleuth who sees ghosts and is searching to find out what happened to
her mother long ago. My second series
features Haley Greco, newly returned to life after a mysterious accident in
order to help save her community and town of oddballs, vampires and gremlins of
all sorts. Number 3 began as an experiment in shorter stories, hoping to get
them out more quickly, but somehow I have the feeling the length is just going
to grow on its own. Three sisters are left a magic tea shop along with a black
cat familiar by their grandmother and must deal with the animosity of a pair of
evil witches who run a competing coffee shop down the street. Fun stories—fun
to write!
I love them
all—but whatever I’m writing now is always my favorite.
Anything by
Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, Dorothy Sayers, John Galsworthy.
The hardest part is finding the time and
solitude to immerse myself in the world I need to visit in order to write the
story. The most rewarding is to see
people enjoying that world almost as much as I do.
Right now, I’m reading the Haunting
Danielle series of mysteries by Bobbie Holmes. Once you read one, you have to
read them all!
I’m hoping to
branch out to more mystery series—have a few ideas percolating.
The joy of reading! I have a grandchild
who’s just discovered it and it has changed her world.
This book is in a series which is being
co-written by the illusive Dakota Kahn, who helps with outlines, gives me jokes
and explains to me how magic works. Without Dakota, I’d be stumped.
AUTHOR LINKS
Website link https://www.amazon.com/Bewitched-Bedeviled-Bewildered-Sister-Witchcraft-ebook/dp/B01M8L5P8K
Facebook Link
(author page) http://jdwinterscozy.com/
Twitter Link
@HelenMCon
AUTHOR BIO
J.D. Winters is a pen name for Helen
Conrad, an award-winning, USA Today Bestselling Author of more than 100
romances published under various pseudonyms with Harlequin, Silhouette,
Loveswept and others--as well as the extensive series, Destiny Bay Romances.
Cozy mysteries are a new venture, less romance, but more fun!
