Although I loved reading and telling stories as a child, I never thought of being a writer. Most of the books in our bookcases were by people like Sir Walter Scott, Jane Austen, and Charles Dickens—people who were dead. Being an author didn’t seem like a healthy occupation. So, when I went to the University of Edinburgh, I studied biology and genetics.
It was only after I came to live in Oregon that I took up writing. At first I wrote about insects and plants (write about what you know). But then I discovered—or rediscovered that you can just “make it up” and I started writing fiction, mostly drawing on my Scottish background.
I've now gone the full circle and am back to writing nonfiction. From a Place Far Away (Lychgate Press, June, 2017) is my memoir, covering my Scottish childhood before and during World War II. Icky Insects (Enslow, 2019) gives a glimpse into the secret lives of some of the most numerous animals on earth.
From a Place Far Away is "...a lovely, funny,moving account of childhood in Scotland in the 1930's and 1940's.
Icky Insects "The lively text and amazing photographs entertain and educate the reader." In this addition to Enslow's Creepy Kooky Science series."
Coming Soon: Journey of the Shadow Bairns 
Cover Designs for
the re-issue of
In the Keep of Time and
To Nowhere and Back,
by Jena Anderson
Home Biography My Books Contact Webpage updated:
July 17, 2016 |
