About

JT Twissel (Jan) was born in a small town in Massachusetts and raised primarily in Reno Nevada, leaving home at eighteen to see the world.  Eventually she more or less settled down, living with her first husband in Chicago and then in the San Francisco Bay area where she obtained a degree in English from UC Berkeley.  She worked as a newsletter editor, a secretary, a process analyst, project manager and technical documentation manager.

Click here to contact Jan.

Chef Jan

Five very important things to know about Jan:

  1. I start each day with a glance at my horoscope.  It’s always wrong but that doesn’t stop me.
  2. After my daily dose of bullshit I skip over to the obits. Yes, as morbid as it seems, I start my day by reading about people who’ve just lived their last.  Someday my horoscope will read “yesterday you died” and then I’ll skip over the obits and see how many words I rated.  I wonder how many dying people write their own obits or pay a professional.  I wonder what professional obit writers dream at night.  I wonder a lot as you can tell – about a lot of things.
  3. I write sitting by an open window, glancing out at the Oakland Hills hoping to see the fog roll in.  My cat, Pretty Kitty, watches me from his perch.  If I get up to stretch and take too long, he steals my chair and I can never bring myself to dislodge a sleeping cat unless it’s for his own good.
  4. I don’t believe in reincarnation because I never want to be a child again. I didn’t have a Dickensian childhood by any stretch but I did have it ground into my head from an early age that I’d better take full advantage of my looks because I had little else to offer which left me completely unable to toot my own horn, a disadvantage for a writer in today’s world of publishing.
  5. In my teen years I seemed hell-bent on making a fool out of myself.  I played the guitar (badly), wrote horrible protest songs and wore costumes rather than real clothes. I once wrote an essay for a civics class on Project Blue Book (the Airforce’s attempt to explain UFOs) which I got a B on because “UFOs have nothing to do with government.” My teacher was so naive!

I’ve been married twice which means my husband and I have five kids and two exes with spouses. I wish I could say we all get along brilliantly all the time but I don’t write fairy tales. I did my stint in the corporate world, in offices and cubes, riding out rounds of layoffs, days of glory and days of belt-tightening, office intrigues and performance reviews. What I have for my efforts is a cupboard full of cups and several drawers full of tee-shirts all advertising various now defunct start-ups and dotcoms!

45 thoughts on “About”

  1. Pingback: The League of Vile but Witty Literary Reviewers | A Place in the World
  2. Pingback: The League of Vile but Witty Literary Reviewers | A Place in the World

  3. Hi Jan, thank you so much for visiting my blog and following it.

    I’m loving your blog because it looks so fresh and inviting. You’ve done a great job in getting it to look the way it does, so well done.

    I’ve visited San Francisco many a time and love the city and also love to take in the Nappa Valley. My last visit was a few years ago, but I hope to pay a visit again in the future.

    I’m delighted to meet you and look forward to reading your blog.

    Have a great week.
    Hugh

    Reply

    1. Hi Hugh – what a lovely comment. Thank you! Napa Valley is one of my favorite places to go to but I can’t afford to live there – we are in the east bay near Berkeley. Another of my favorite places is Muir Woods (when it’s not too crowded, of course). Looking forward to getting to know you as well. We just had a lovely trip to the UK. Take care, Jan

      Reply

  4. Hi Jan,
    Thank you for stopping by and commenting. If you ever need a book reviewer, drop by https://litworldinterviews.wordpress.com/ and pick one of the reviewers there. The names are in white text in black boxes. You can get their contact information there. Hugh, the other commenter here, is one of the book review team members. 🙂 Funny how we found each other in different ways.

    Reply

  7. Thanks for visiting Adventures of a retired librarian. I’ve been checking out your blog this morning and so far, so funny! I especially liked your views on Trump (we know Mr Trump here – he attempts to impose his will on Scotland too) and driving in England. Many American tourists come to Scotland and think they can do it in a couple of days but they don’t know our roads. You are wiser than them! In the Highlands and Islands many roads are single tracks with passing places so yes, forget all about personal space. More on my journeys in Scotland and other favourite places (including the U.S.) on my main site, Anabel’s Travel Blog.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for stopping by and leaving such wonderful comments! We were told that if we found England impossible to drive around, Scotland would would probably send us right over the edge. I do remember reading about Trump’s adventures in your country – had something to do with a golf course, right? We’ll gladly share him with you – in fact you can have him!! Look forward to checking out your travel blog! Nice to meet you!

      Reply

      1. Yes, he built a golf course then seemed to think that gave him the right to dictate what happened in the whole area. It’s ok – you can keep him thanks!

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  21. Hi! I just ‘met’ you here thanks to George. Ohh, I think we have a lot in common: grew up in East Coast, raised family in SF bay area (lived there total of 20 years), living now outside of Boston. I miss Bay Area every day. Raised on my looks but now love my intellectual curiosity. Did a myriad of jobs with non-profits after I finished my career as a medical editor. Been teaching creative writing for many years and finally, finally, am publishing my novels. I’m looking forward to reading your blog.
    Oh, and I was going to meet the Beatles and save the world too!! 🙂

    Reply

    1. If the Beatles had only waited for us, we could have saved the world! Nice to meet you. It does sounds like we’ve been on similar paths. Jan

      Reply

  27. Hi Jan,
    It took me five years to get here and I’m not the same person any more. In some ways worse, others better. More the former I’m afraid. I used to have this Australian doctor for years and when I’d see him for something he’d say, your taking years off the back end of your life. Funny thing is, he died recently. Got a note from his ex-wife. She never liked me after I complemented her strong teeth. She had a brilliant smile that you could see across a field at night. Up close one probably could read by it. As usual I’m wandering. We have many things in common. Your sculpture was a revelation and added to your image in my mind.
    Your love of Redwoods is a giant tell. Don’t ever take one to a card game. Congratulations on surviving social media with humor and realistic expectations. You never stooped to obvious bullshit. You have told your story well. Thanks for the memories. Duke

    Reply

  28. Thanks Duke. After five years it often feels like an exercise in extreme futility but as John Lennon said “half of what I say is meaningless but I say it just to reach you.” The redwoods comfort me – when I’m there I don’t believe in the outside world. Only the one within. I love it when you babble. Babble on as long as you can. I’ll always be there to listen.

    Reply

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