Jan Ruth lives a mountainous area of North Wales, UK. Jan writes contemporary fiction about the darker side of the family dynamic, often blending life in rural Wales with a touch of city business. Her style is best described as fast-paced and realistic, with a sprinkling of dry humour. The real story began at school, with prizes for short stories and poetry. She failed all things mathematical and scientific, and to this day struggles to make sense of anything numerical. Her first novel – written in 1986 – attracted the attention of editor Anne Dewe, Andrew Mann Literary Agency, London. Dewe’s own company, Love Stories Ltd, was a project aiming to champion those books of substance which contained a romantic element but were perhaps directed towards the more mature reader and consistently fell through the net in traditional publishing. Summer in October was contracted immediately but sadly, the project failed to get the right financial backing and the company dissolved. Many years later Jan’s second novel, Wild Water, was taken on by Jane C Judd Literary Agency, London. Despite Judd’s enthusiasm, the book failed to find the right niche with a publisher – one brave enough to expand on those established, traditional genre stereotypes. And then Amazon changed the face of the industry with the advent of self-publishing and Jan went on to successfully publish several works of fiction under her own imprint, Celtic Connections. After a brief partnership with Accent Press in 2015, Jan chose to return to the freedom of independent publishing. Wild Water won the Cornerstones competition for the most popular self-published book in 2011, and Midnight Sky won the Romantic Review Magazine Award (2013). Silver Rain (2015) and Wild Water (2016) were both finalists in the Wishing Shelf Awards. Jan’s books are available globally via Amazon as ebooks or paperbacks and locally, you’ll find them in North Wales libraries. When she’s not reading or writing – Jan loves to ride and walk the Welsh hills; a constant source of inspiration.