Author of Young Adult Fantasy Novels and Murder Mysteries
JAN FRAZIER

Upon publication in August, 2003, Starlight Laser Express received the Tommy Award for excellence in teen fantasy.

IDEAS FOR MY NOVELS...

Much of my work is based on real-life experiences. For example, my children -- Dara and Jenna -- have always believed that there is a playful ghost living in our house. At the time that I wrote Starlight Laser Express, I hadn't seen the apparition; nevertheless, it inspired the concept of Smitty, the ghost. In the past years that Smitty has become "a part of my life" through Starlight, he seems to have taken the opportunity to "play games" in my house from time to time, thus, making me wonder just how much my children have been fantasizing.

The places to which J.C. and Smitty journey are European cities that I have visited and enjoyed. Each of those cities held something special for me that I wanted to share with young adult readers.

In my second novel, A Ghost of a Chance, released in 2004, J.C. travels back in time to the Holocaust in Holland. The subject of WWII and the Holocaust have always attracted my attention, and the fact that I have lived in Holland gave me the basis for this novel.

In addition, I have done extensive research on Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl in hiding in Amsterdam. My interest in Anne Frank provided background information for this second novel. In the 1980s, my family and I had the honor and privilege of meeting Miep Gies, the woman who hid the Frank family in the canal house on Prinsengracht. What a thrill for my husband, two girls, and me to have the opportunity to talk with a lady that risked her life to save the Franks. Humbly, Miep insisted that she "didn't do anything special that hundreds of other good, Dutch people didn't do, also."

I must admit, however, that in the novel A Glimpse of the Netherworld, I have not actually visited the Netherworld! Many of the lands and creatures encountered are complete fantasy; however, some of the lands stem straight out of literture (The Canterbury Tales and The Legend of King Arthur)

My true inspiration for Touched by a Ghost was my visits to Pompeii. Learning about that devastation led me to learn more about other catastrophes that have happened in the world. All of us have lived through 9/11 and so began my fourth in the series of J.C. van Winkler.

The Bells of Europe was inspired by the beautiful cathedrals abroad, and then on my third trip to Venice -- a truly remarkable city unlike any other in Europe -- I knew that the novel had to end there. I wanted the reading audience to "feel and see" the mysterious aura that surounds Venice.

The Patchwork Quilt, A Murder Mystery came about because of my love of mysteries and my desire to put J.C. into the center of one. I did some research on strange mysteries and murders, developing the plot around an eccentric couple whom no one would believe murdered anyone. Of course, my love of Holland is again portrayed in this novel.

Transatlantic Journey 1852 has a special meaning to me. It is based on my mother's family, Christian and Elizabeth Pollmann, from Hummersen, Germany. I had the pleasure of visiting Hummersen in 2006 and 2007, where the Pollmann family still lives. My cousins, Edith, Peter, Ruben, and Felix Eichleiter, were gracious enough to show me the beautiful area called Lipperland where my great grandfather, Christian Pollmann, was raised. I had the opportunity to see the church in Falkenhagen where he was baptized and confirmed. We went to Schwalenburg to see the Town Hall where Christian walked to get his papers to come to America when he was only 24. The two trips were awe-inspiring for me, and I started the historical novel upon my return from the 2006 trip.

I Visited Europe and Survived, A travelogue of fun and adventure has been a book that I've been writing in my mind since 1972. Through over 30 years of traveling with students and adults in Europe, I have encountered hundreds of hilarious events that have been put into this creative nonfiction. With the help of all of the journals that I have kept through the years, I was able to put some of the best of the adventures into this book. Enjoy!!