Janet Nichols Lynch is the author of nine books, including a novel, a short story collection, four young adult novels, one juvenile novel, and two nonfiction books about music. Janet was born and raised in Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

.

Her father was William Nichols, a refrigeration engineer, and her mother was Lena Graifenberg Nichols, a homemaker. She has one older sister, Joyce. In 1984 Janet’s first published short story appeared in The New Yorker

The New Yorker

The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...

, and since then her fiction has been included in Seventeen

Seventeen (magazine)

Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...

, The San Joaquin Review, The Baltimore Review

Baltimore Review

Baltimore Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1996.. It publishes short stories, poetry , creative nonfiction, interviews, and items of interest to those interested in creative writing. The Baltimore Review, a literary journal of poetry and fiction, was founded by Barbara Westwood...

, Confrontation

Confrontation (journal)

Confrontation is an American literary magazine founded in 1968 and based at Long Island University in Brookville, New York. It publishes fiction, essays and poetry twice each year. The journal helped launch the careers of Cynthia Ozick, Paul Theroux and Walter Abish...

, Writers' Forum

Writers' Forum

Writers' Forum is a American literary magazine founded by Alexander Blackburn in 1974 and based at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. -Other Awards:Stories that appeared in Writers' Forum received "honorable mention" for the O...

, and the anthology of California writers Highway 99: a Literary Journey through California’s Great Central Valley.

For the past thirteen years, Janet has read her fiction on Valley Public Radio

Valley Public Radio

Valley Public Radio is a public radio organization in Fresno, California, broadcasting programming from National Public Radio and other public radio producers and distributors, as well as locally produced news, music, talk, and public affairs programs...

’s Valley Writers Read (KVPR, Fresno and KVPX Bakersfield FM 89.3), hosted by Franz Weinschenk.

Lynch received a B.A. in Music from California State University, Sacramento

California State University, Sacramento

California State University, Sacramento, popularly known as Sacramento State, is a public university located in the city of Sacramento, California. It is part of the California State University system...

, a Master of Music Degree in Piano from Arizona State University

Arizona State University

Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...

, and a M.F.A. in Creative Writing from California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno

California State University, Fresno, often referred to as Fresno State University and synonymously known in athletics as Fresno State , is one of the leading campuses of the California State University system, located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, USA.The campus sits at the foot of...

, where she was the 2003 Outstanding Thesis Award Nominee for the College of Arts and Humanities. She has taught music at De Anza College, Cupertino, and Skyline College, San Bruno, and music and English at College of the Sequoias, Visalia; currently she teaches English at El Diamante High school. She competes in marathons and triathlons, and once rode her bike from Phoenix, AZ to Washington, D.C. She lives in Visalia with her husband, Timothy Lynch. They have two grown children, Caitlin and Sean.

Lynch has credited her classical music training for her discipline in writing.

Books

Racing California young adult novel (Holiday House, 2012)

Addicted to Her young adult novel (Holiday House, 2010)

Chest Pains novel (Bridge Works, 2009)

Messed Up young adult novel (Holiday House, 2009)
ALA 2010 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Peace is a Four Letter Word young adult novel (Heyday Books, 2005)

Where Words Leave off Music Begins stories (2004)

Casey Wooster's Pet Care Service juvenile novel (Atheneum, 1993)

Women Music Makers nonfiction (Walker, 1992)

American Music Makers nonfiction (Walker, 1990)