Jennie Shortridge
Encyclopedia
Jennie Shortridge is a best-selling novelist and off-and-on musician. Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota
Shortridge grew up in Maryland
and Colorado
before relocating to the Pacific Northwest. She now resides in Seattle, Washington
with her Australian husband, Matt Gani.
Citing an unhappy home life with a mentally ill mother, Shortridge ventured out on her own at the age of seventeen and began to support herself through a series of office jobs, cooking jobs, and a stint as a plumber, all the while also performing in bands as a lead singer. A job with a small advertising firm began her marketing career, leading to a position as director of sales and marketing for a Denver
visual imaging firm during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995, Shortridge “decided to climb back down,” the corporate ladder as she says, and began to write full-time as a freelance magazine features writer. Her work appeared in local, regional, and national publications including Natural Home, Mademoiselle
, and Glamour
.
In 2003, Shortridge’s first novel, Riding with the Queen, was published by New American Library
(New York, NY). The story of a young rock-and-roll singer who leaves home to escape a mentally ill mother, Riding with the Queen was not fictionalized memoir
, according to Shortridge, but rather a new story using her experiences with both. In 2005, she employed similar technique for her second published novel, Eating Heaven, again by NAL, the story of a disenfranchised food writer who comes to term with life by caring for a dying uncle. In her 2008 novel, "Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe," NAL, a perfectionist middle-aged woman flees her home and life after discovering her husband has been less than perfect.
"When She Flew," Shortridge's fourth novel, NAL Nov. 2009, was inspired by true events in Portland, OR, and tells the story of an Iraq-war vet raising his young daughter in the woods, and the policewoman who finds them and must find the courage to break the rules to help them.
Shortridge also teaches both adults and children how to write, volunteering a good portion of her time to literacy organizations for children, including 826 Seattle.
About writing, Shortridge says: “I am a writer because I can’t not be one. I write to examine the universal story through the personal lens. I write to put another voice, another viewpoint, out into a world where too many of the voices I hear aren’t telling my story, or my family’s and friends’ stories. Reading was my salvation as a kid, and now, writing is.”
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
Shortridge grew up in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
before relocating to the Pacific Northwest. She now resides in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
with her Australian husband, Matt Gani.
Citing an unhappy home life with a mentally ill mother, Shortridge ventured out on her own at the age of seventeen and began to support herself through a series of office jobs, cooking jobs, and a stint as a plumber, all the while also performing in bands as a lead singer. A job with a small advertising firm began her marketing career, leading to a position as director of sales and marketing for a Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
visual imaging firm during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1995, Shortridge “decided to climb back down,” the corporate ladder as she says, and began to write full-time as a freelance magazine features writer. Her work appeared in local, regional, and national publications including Natural Home, Mademoiselle
Mademoiselle (magazine)
Mademoiselle was an influential women's magazine first published in 1935 by Street and Smith and later acquired by Condé Nast Publications....
, and Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
.
In 2003, Shortridge’s first novel, Riding with the Queen, was published by New American Library
New American Library
New American Library is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948; it produced affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works, as well as popular, pulp, and "hard-boiled" fiction. Non-fiction, original, and hardcopy issues were also produced.Victor Weybright and Kurt...
(New York, NY). The story of a young rock-and-roll singer who leaves home to escape a mentally ill mother, Riding with the Queen was not fictionalized memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, according to Shortridge, but rather a new story using her experiences with both. In 2005, she employed similar technique for her second published novel, Eating Heaven, again by NAL, the story of a disenfranchised food writer who comes to term with life by caring for a dying uncle. In her 2008 novel, "Love and Biology at the Center of the Universe," NAL, a perfectionist middle-aged woman flees her home and life after discovering her husband has been less than perfect.
"When She Flew," Shortridge's fourth novel, NAL Nov. 2009, was inspired by true events in Portland, OR, and tells the story of an Iraq-war vet raising his young daughter in the woods, and the policewoman who finds them and must find the courage to break the rules to help them.
Shortridge also teaches both adults and children how to write, volunteering a good portion of her time to literacy organizations for children, including 826 Seattle.
About writing, Shortridge says: “I am a writer because I can’t not be one. I write to examine the universal story through the personal lens. I write to put another voice, another viewpoint, out into a world where too many of the voices I hear aren’t telling my story, or my family’s and friends’ stories. Reading was my salvation as a kid, and now, writing is.”