Jennifer Drew would like to say she's a tall, willowy blonde who can eat all the chocolate chip cookies she wants without gaining an ounce... but she's really the alter ego of mother/daughter romance writers Barbara Andrews and Pam Andrews Hanson.
Barbara wanted a career she could combine with motherhood and four children. She made her first sale to Highlights for Children when Pam was in kindergarten. And Pam, whose youngest son entered kindergarten in the fall, grew up within earshot of her mother's manual typewriter.
Pam majored in journalism in college and later worked as a reporter. Barbara, the author of 21 romance novels under her own name, teamed up with her daughter after the birth of Pam's first child. For several years their partnership was long-distance, fueled by high phone bills!
Matching blueberry iMacs make writing a lot easier these days. So does the fact that mom and daughter share digs in West Virginia, along with Pam's college-professor husband and two sons.
"There's a grandma in my basement," 10-year-old Erik answers matter-of-factly when friends want to know what s downstairs.
Five-year-old Andrew's favourite trick is to sneak down in the early a.m. to the lower level of the house and "oogly boogly" his grandmother. This involves a lot of running, jumping, and whooping!
When the household settles down, inspiration for stories comes from many sources, including part-time teacher Pam's reporting students - who fill her in on dating in the 21st century, or lack thereof!
And for those who want to know how a mom and daughter can possibly work together, the answer is... in separate rooms!
You can write to Jennifer Drew at: P.O. Box 4084, Morgantown, WV 26504-4084.
