JJ Holbert has a BA in Sociology and a Master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language. She informed her father when she was in college that she would take the career path less traveled. Case in point: in addition to working in mental health in Montpelier, VT, her choices have led her to dishwashing and cleaning hotel rooms in her hometown of New Hope, PA; slinging falafel in Boulder, CO; being a bike messenger, an interior design showroom sample assistant, and a movie theatre usher in NYC; an assistant professor in Kanazawa, Japan; a zoo tour guide, a teacher, and a writer in San Diego. JJ feels confident that she did what she said she would do.

She currently lives in southern California, where she and her husband run a sailing tour company. It has nothing to do with writing, but they love it.

She is currently working on a novel based in San Diego County. Big Flame and Little Buck is her first publication.

Why Big Flame and Little Buck? JJ Holbert worked in the mental health field in the 1990's. It was her first real job and she loved her position title, Psychosocial Rehabilitation Counselor, because it had so many syllables. She worked in a day treatment program in which she supported job development and training for adults with mental illness. She could be found more often than not driving the agency van around with clients on their way to pick up recycling, mow lawns, or staff a soup kitchen. In the way that only working side-by-side can, there developed a camaraderie and mutual respect that helped her grow as a person. She can only hope she had as positive an influence on her clients as they had on her. This novel is written in honor of them.