Fired Up - Hardcover

Catherine Coulter and Jayne Ann Krentz: Author One-on-One
In this Amazon exclusive, we brought together blockbuster authors Catherine Coulter and Jayne Ann Krentz and asked them to interview each other.

Catherine Coulter is a New York Times bestselling author and her books include Whiplash, Knockout, and The Beginning. Read on to see Catherine Coulter's questions for Jayne Ann Krentz, or turn the tables to see what Krentz asked Coulter.

Catherine: Tell me how you developed the Arcane Society. Was it a flash, then you fleshed it out?

Jayne: One way or another, I’ve been working toward the Arcane Society novels my entire career. They combine three elements I have always loved to work with: romance, suspense, and a strong psychic vibe. When I look back, I can see that romance and suspense were always at the core of my stories. As for the psychic stuff, I injected that whenever I thought I could get away with it. Now I’ve got it all in the Arcane books. I am one very happy camper.

Catherine: Tell me about how you came up with the “Curtain” and the worlds of St. Helens and Harmony—green quartz cities and the catacombs. What an amazing imagination you have.

Jayne: These are the futuristic romances that I write under my Jayne Castle name. They involve the same three elements that I love most—romance, suspense, and the psychic thing—but because they are set against a futuristic landscape I get to make up all the rules. The Curtain was my way of explaining how the worlds in these books were colonized by humans. By the way, it was while writing my first futuristic romances that I realized I might be able to write historical romance. That was when I fired up my Amanda Quick career. If you look at the core stories, you can see that there are a lot of similarities between the Jayne Castle books and the Amanda Quick books. Except for the dust bunnies, of course.

Catherine: Speaking of dust bunnies—I love them all—Araminta, Elvis, Max—how did you think of them? Did they, as most characters do, name themselves?

Jayne: All I can tell you is that those dust bunnies sure seemed like a good idea at the time. But the little suckers have taken over the books. It’s like writing cat books. Once you stick cats into books you can’t get rid of them. Same with dust bunnies.

Catherine: I remember you were considering a pseudonym a while back and asked me what I thought. If I remember correctly, I was very much against it since I loved your books. I didn’t think you should change your name, and I’d heard horror stories about published authors who did that, but you went ahead and chose Amanda Quick. And what happened? Horror stories? I don’t think so—you hit the New York Times list right off. (I don’t believe you’ve ever again asked my opinion on anything.) How did all this come about?

Jayne: Nonsense, Catherine, of course I always seek out your advice! But as far as pen names, I assure you I did have a plan. The idea was to see which of my three worlds worked best: the Jayne Ann Krentz contemporaries, the Amanda Quick historicals, or the Jayne Castle futuristics. I intended to pick the one that clicked with readers and drop the other two. I never expected all three to attract an audience, but that is what happened. I am absolutely thrilled, because having these three fictional landscapes keeps me excited as an author. I never get bored. When I come out of one world I am ready to plunge into a different one. I realize that people can’t remember three pen names, but I’m hoping they will remember the word "Arcane.”

(Photo of Catherine Coulter © Charles Bush)
(Photo of Jayne Ann Krentz © Sigrid Estrada)

Jayne Ann Krentz is the author of fifty New York Times bestsellers. She has written contemporary romantic suspense novels under that name, as well as futuristic and historical romance novels under the pseudonyms Jayne Castle and Amanda Quick, respectively. She lives in Seattle.