I live in a wonderful area of the country in the Chilterns near Marlow in Bucks. I love it here for its peace, its wildlife and the fields all round. I have been here all my married life and brought up my three children here: Rachel who is now a doctor, Kirsty who is a solicitor and my son Nicholas who is a civil servant.
Jane Mann
Previous to getting married I worked in Hong Kong as an English teacher, teaching mainly Chinese students who were a joy to teach as they worked so hard and there were no discipline problems with them. It was in Hong Kong that I first met my husband Ray who was working on constructing a special dam there on the island of Lantao. So Hong Kong is a special place to me and features at the beginning of my new book "The Will". I continued teaching English after marriage and children at colleges in Marlow and Henley but only part time. It was a very busy life juggling several balls in the air at once but we managed.
My children all now have partners of their own and I now have six grandchildren ranging from 9 months to 19 years. The eldest, Ben, is a great cricketer playing for the England 19 and under team. My grandchildren are a great source of joy and I spend as much time as I can with them, My husband died 6 years ago but his influence is still very much alive and we often reflect on him. From necessity I had to take over his gardening but have grown to enjoy it as much as he did and am as proud of my tomatoes, onions and potatoes as he was. I find it very satisfying growing my own vegetables and fruit. It is quite a thrill when you dig up perfect potatoes out of he ground or hang up large rounded onions for the winter. My main interest is in literature. I particularly love poetry and have had three poetry books published one specially for children called "Give us a Chance " about animals we love to hate. I have very much enjoyed writing my recent novel "The Will".as I felt I could very much identify with Hannah, the heroine in trying to unravel a long laid plot relating to inheritance. The novel I wrote previous to "The Will" was called "The Cause" and was concerned with the animal rights movement and the problem of vivisection. My other main interest apart from writing is the environment and conservation. I am a member of The Green Party and am very concerned about global warming and the rapid extinction of so many species. I belong to a number of environmental groups as Friends of the Earth and WWF.I am now retired and hope to carry on with my interests in an active way as long as health allows.
