When my first husband died of cancer at age 39, so much grief and anger boiled up inside that I started recording these feelings in a diary in order to exorcize them. Eventually, I began constructing scenes using the powerful emotions I had experienced. Throwing the protagonists into life-altering situations and watching them cope helped me cope. Thus my affinity for romantic suspense was born. My personal story does have a happy ending. I had met my second husband through a camera club. To get me out in the world again, Ed offered to teach me macro (close-up) photography. Since that first outing, we've gone on many photo safaris, including romantic Venice and the Alps on our honeymoon. In fact, the cover of WILD NATURE, taken by my husband in our front yard, is a QUASAR Award winner in the Mainstream category for 2004. It's a stunning photo of a butterfly on a zinnia. Also, check out the cover of DARK LEGACY, my July 2002 release from Wings. I took that photograph of a calopogon orchid at Webs Bog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. (Didn't he teach me well? ) We now reside in a small town amid an eye-catching perennial garden, the subject of many a photograph.

Christine Janssen's WILD NATURE was a finalist in the Mainstream category of the 2004 EPPIE contest. It also won the QUASAR award in its category for best cover.

Christine was named a Golden Wings Award winner for her romantic suspense novel, STAND ON YOUR OWN, published by Wings ePress, Inc. The award is presented "to the one book that the Senior Editor of the department feels best exemplifies wonderful story-telling ability, great characterization and exceptional writing skills." More at www.wings-press.com

Finalist, The Clara Awards 2001, for WILD NATURE (a unique competition in which all published books are submitted anonymously, in manuscript form, so the books are judged on quality, not the author's or publisher's reputation). NOTE: THIS BOOK HAS NOW BEEN PUBLISHED IN TRADE PAPERBACK BY WINGS ePRESS. This book features the "bad" twin who was introduced in STAND ON YOUR OWN. Romantic Times BOOKclub gave WILD NATURE 4 stars.

Best-selling Wings author for October 2001, for NIGHTMARE RUN. This book was also an EPPIE finalist, in the contest sponsored by the Electronically Published Internet Connection.

The covers for both NIGHTMARE RUN and STAND ON YOUR OWN feature fires. Am I a pyromaniac? Of course not. But fire plays an important part in the lives of both my heroines. In NIGHTMARE RUN, Tricia Buckman has amnesia, and all she can remember is a stone wall, a roaring fire, and blood on a cleaver. In STAND ON YOUR OWN, Felicia Redding gets trapped in a forest fire by someone who wants to kill her. It wasn't a conscious decision on my part - the characters simply told me their stories and I wrote them down! For the cover of DARK LEGACY, Wings is using a photograph of a calopogon orchid that I took in Webbs Bog in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. And the cover of WILD NATURE, coming in June 2003, will feature a stunning Swallowtail butterfly on a zinnia that my husband took.

Visit My NEW Site
Read excerpts from my romantic suspense novels released by Wings ePress, Inc.

Wings ePress, Inc.
One of the best e-publishers around, boasting a top-10 editor in the 2001, 2002 and 2003 Preditors and Editors polls. Look for the link to discover all the Golden Wings Award winners. Check out WINGING IT IN THE KITCHEN, a compilation of recipes from 47 Wings authors from around the world. Quick and easy, regional and ethnic specialties, and just plain delicious offerings from appetizers to desserts.

Books We Love
Come see all the authors resident here. Terrific contests throughout the year with great prizes (like an e-book reader, digital camera, and books, books, books!) Check my page in the Romances We Love section.

New Jersey Romance Writers
The 250-member professional association of writers for New Jersey. Meetings held monthly at the Jamesburg Holiday Inn off Route 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike. Writers of all genres welcome! NJRW's renowned conference coming up Oct. 8-9, 2004 at the Doubletree in Somerset, NJ. Over 30 workshops, with editor and agent appointments, 60 authors signing their books at our BookFair to benefit Literacy Volunteers of America-New Jersey. BookFair open to the public Saturday 4:00-6:00pm.