Jillian was born and raised in eastern Nebraska, and currently lives in Omaha with her husband, Dan, and two cats, Beatrix and Dax. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she double-majored in English and History and minored in Medieval & Renaissance Studies.
She began her foray into science-fiction as a young Star Wars fan in 1997, blown away by the “special edition” releases. It wasn’t enough for her to simply watch the movies, and even reading ALL THE NOVELS could not satisfy. So she started writing her own by hand in giant binders, the drafts of which have never seen the light of day and never will. (You’re welcome 😉)
In 2008, she dusted off her old ideas and completed a Star Wars tribute novel for her honors project, graduating with High Distinction in English, in addition to History. Sometimes publication isn’t the best outcome for a work of your heart, but writing it gets you somewhere.
Over the years she has channeled the urge to write into her own stories and characters. She is inspired by human journeys and transformations against the backdrop of time, space, and history. She participates in the Breakthrough Writers Bootcamp, founded by Kate Brauning.
Her current work-in-progress (and ultimate story of her heart) is a science-fiction novel set in the frontier of space and echoes the classic novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Imagine Jane as a Sister in an order of healer-nuns who faces the dark, alien figures that haunt her past.
Other stories and curiosities circulating in her brain include post-Roman/early medieval Britain, World War Two and time-travel, and Joan of Arc on a very alien world.