This month I am very pleased to have as my guest author Jane Tesh. Jane was suggested to me by my cousin, Martha, who is a friend of Jane’s. I looked into her work and asked Jane to join us.
Welcome, Jane!
Please tell our readers a little about yourself. (On a personal note, how did you meet Martha?)
Hello, everyone! I am a retired elementary school media specialist who grew up in Greensboro, NC, and moved to the small town of Mt. Airy, NC, to take the library job at Jones School. That’s where I met Martha. She lived down the street from my apartment, so we often got together on snow days.
I’ve been writing all my life, but the tricky part was getting published. Now I’m happy to say I have eleven books published and two more on the way this spring, Baby, Take a Bow, which is the fifth in the Grace Street Series, and The Monsters of Spiders’ Rest, a fantasy novel.
I enjoy traveling, and when I’m home, I spend a lot of time with my little Chihuahua, Pearl.
You play the piano in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, the inspiration for “Mayberry”, in the Andy Griffith Show. I have visited Mt. Airy; it is filled to the brim with memorabilia and uses every possible tie-in to the show. What else happens in Mt Airy?
Our tourists love to come walk Main Street, have a pork chop sandwich at the Snappy Lunch, and stop in at Floyd’s Barbershop, but Mt. Airy and the surrounding area also have lots of wineries for folks to visit, plenty of Old Time and Bluegrass music concerts, an artist studio where people can create their own paintings, a very good community theater that performs in the Andy Griffith Playhouse, which is the remodeled auditorium of Andy’s old school, and a series of music events that runs all summer at our amphitheater.
I recently read the first of your Madeline Maclin Mysteries, and frankly, I am curious about the rest of the story! (What is it with Jerry’s family???) I have a TBR [To Be Read] list that is sky-high, but your books have been added to it.
“Mac”, (Madeline), is a former beauty queen-turned private detective. In the first of the series, “A Case of Imagination”, you added quite a bit of backstage knowledge. Do you have experience in beauty pageants?
I personally do not have any pageant experience, but I have lots of friends who do. Two of them used to run the Miss Mt. Airy Pageant, which really had to be seen to be believed. We would often go to the Miss North Carolina Pageant, as well. We all love bad talent.
How did you learn about private detectives?
I have interviewed some, and I took part in our police department’s citizen’s academy where I learned a great deal about police work and the use of detectives in helping solve crimes.
Although Mac’s boyfriend (?), Jerry, bills himself as a psychic, he has no supernatural powers, however, there are such elements in most, if not all, of your other works. How did you become interested in the paranormal/supernatural?
My first love is science fiction and fantasy, so I’ve read a great deal about the supernatural.
Which supernatural/paranormal elements do you write about? I write about psychic ability, telekinesis, ghosts, and anything that sounds cool and interesting!
Do you have first-hand experiences with any of the supernatural/paranormal happenings which you add to your works?
My only psychic talent is what I call Music Psychic. A song will come to mind, usually an old, obscure song, and that day or the next, I’ll either hear it on TV, or being played in a restaurant, or somewhere. It’s happened too many times to ignore. [Happens to me all the time!-T]
Do you have any other interests/talents/hobbies you’d care to tell us about?
I enjoy learning to play instruments. I’m a real instrument junkie! I have a lot of different ones, but can only play a little bit on each one. I’m taking violin lessons right now. It’s very squeaky, but fortunately, the neighbors can’t hear it.
Like Madeline, I can draw and paint, but my other hobbies take up most of my time.
Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers?
It took me a very long time to get published, but I was not going to give up, and eventually, I found just the right publisher at just the right time. If anyone out there is getting discouraged about your writing career, hang in there!
How can our readers learn more about you and your works?
Email: sjtesh@hotmail.com
My website is www.janetesh.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/GraceStreetMysterySeries
Twitter: www.twitter.com/janetesh
Blog: www.janetesh.wordpress.com
Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/janetesh
Publishers: www.poisonedpenpress.com (mystery)
www.silverleafbooks.com (fantasy)
Instagram: tesh.jane
Thank you so much for being my guest, Jane Tesh!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the opportunity!
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Welcome, Jane, to 4F1H. Enjoyed your interview.
I believe I also have that “Music psychic” ability … or whatever it may be called. I’ll often be thinking about a tune — usually one I liked, but occasionally one I did NOT like — and before you know it, it appears on TV, the radio (when I’m listening), the P.A. system at a store, or I’ll see an internet article about that song or that band.
It’s probably not as “sixth sense” as I consider it… but it feels a lot more “connected” than mere coincidence.
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I have no idea what it is, Jeff, but it happens too often to be a coincidence. Now, granted, if it is just played on the radio a lot suddenly, it is usually the fact that someone ‘rediscovered’ it and they are getting requests.Often, if it is associated with a famous movie, ( like “Unchained Melody” and “Ghost”, “Danger Zone” or “Dock of the Bay” and “Top Gun”), if the movie is shown on TV, the radio will them play the song for a few days afterward.
But when it shows up on shirts, at online, in canned music and in a book in a few days, it’s more than odd.
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Welcome to our blog, Jane! I love to read mysteries, and your Grace Street series sounds fascinating. I’ve seen pictures of Mt. Airy – looks like a place I’d love to visit! I guess I share your love of playing instruments – both of my degrees are in music and I play in two orchestras and a community band. I can hold my own on woodwind and most brass instruments (don’t have enough air to play tuba), but I never got the hang of string instruments. Have fun with violin!
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I knew the music and instruments would get your attention, Patty!
Mt.Airy is a beautiful little town; it sure helps if you are an Andy Griffith Show fan, you get a lot more out of it.
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