Born to an Anglophile school-district clerk and an asphalt paver who loved to fish, J. Jay Kamp has been writing books about England and the sea since 1991. Her love affair with country houses has compelled her to visit over one hundred historic properties and spend far too much time in the British Library. With Admiral Lord Nelson and George Vancouver as heroes, J. Jay has an unrelenting appetite for maritime history. Touring Victory, Nelson's flagship, was one of the highlights of her many travels, as was visiting the Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala, snorkeling the beautiful barrier reef of Belize, taking in the Georgian architecture of Dublin, Ireland, and walking the windswept landscapes of the West Country in England. Her favorite place in the world, however, remains closed to her: Protection Island in Washington State, where she spent the summers of her youth. It is a National Wildlife Refuge and, as such, off limits to the public.
J. Jay Kamp's work has won two contests sponsored by the Romance Writers of America: The Bayman's Bride took top honors in the 1997 "Emerald City Opener" (historical category), while The Last Killiney (then called 'Til Death Do Us Part) received honorable mention in the paranormal "On the Far Side" contest the same year.
Having been an administrative assistant for most of the last decade, J. Jay is currently a full-time writer and mother of three (cats, that is). She is presently working on a new project, a story about Ravenna Evans and the Irish Rebellion of 1798.