Jane's Blog - Jane Porter | New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Readers and Friends (& Mari Lou!)

May 3, 2026 by Jane · View all 27 comments

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about readers—and not in the abstract, “thank you for your support” way authors are supposed to say—but in the real, human way. The way certain readers don’t just read your books… they step into your life and stay.

At my recent New Jersey book event, I looked up and saw Mari Lou walk into the ballroom, and for a moment, I honestly couldn’t process it. It’s been years. Decades, really.

Mari Lou was one of my very early readers, back when I’d only published two or three books for Harlequin Presents. We first met at NJRW in 2002, and I remember her warmth immediately—but what I didn’t fully understand then was how special that kind of connection would be, and how enduring.

I don’t get to the East Coast as often as I’d like, but over the years I’ve been able to see Mari Lou here and there—she came to my She’s Gone Country event in New Jersey in 2010—and then this past April, she surprised me again.

After we saw each other, Mari Lou shared these photos and this note in my Jane Porter Fans & Friends group on Facebook. “I’d just finished chemo, and my hair was growing out, and you made me feel like I was your long-lost friend. You don’t know how much that meant (and still means to me.)”

I didn’t know. I knew how much I loved meeting Mari and how much her kindness resonated with me. It’s scary being a new author, and it’s intimidating at times. As authors, we show up, we sign books, we talk, we smile—we hope we’re making people feel seen, but we don’t always know when it matters, or how much. And yet, somehow, those moments stay.

Twenty-four years.

Twenty-four years of her showing up in my life in the most unexpected and meaningful ways. Twenty-four years of someone reminding me that what I do matters. And the truth is, that kind of affirmation isn’t always easy to come by in this industry.

But Mari Lou isn’t just one special story. She’s part of something bigger. Over the years, so many of you have become more than readers. You’ve become part of my life. Women I recognize in a crowd. Women I look for when I travel. Women I sit with, talk with, laugh with–and sometimes cry with. Women who have shared their stories with me, trusted me with pieces of their lives, and let me be real, not just an author brand. You, my readers and friends, have made my world larger and richer. You are one of the biggest reasons I continue to write.

Yes, I’m a storyteller. I always have been. But I don’t want to write in a vacuum. I don’t want my stories to exist in isolation, sent out into the world without connection or conversation. I love being read. But even more so, I love connecting with readers because I am one, too.

Books have shaped my life in every possible way. They’ve been my escape, my comfort, my joy. And getting to share that is one of the greatest gifts this career has given me.

These are my people. YOU are my people.

So thank you, Mari Lou, for taking the time to come see me—then and now, across all these years.

Thank you to every reader who shows up, who sends an email, who comments on Facebook or Instagram, who reaches out in ways big and small.

I can’t imagine being Jane without all of you, my cherished book girls.

For a chance to win a JP package with a mug, tea, gift card and lots of books, tell me how we met–or how you found me. I’m celebrating you, my readers and friends. You mean everything to me! (The winner will be announced Friday.)

A Story About My Stories

March 21, 2026March 21, 2026 by Jane · View all 28 comments

I made a video of me talking about my current small town/cowboy series, The Calhouns & Campbells of Cold Canyon Ranch, but it was too long to upload here, so I’m going to break it down in a blog.

The Calhouns & Campbells of Cold Canyon Ranch brings together two families, one from Montana (The Calhouns), and one from Texas (The Campbells), although originally the Campbells were a Montana family before a falling out between the two brothers, Clyde and Callen.

Clyde still lives on Cold Canyon Ranch, the family property in Paradise Valley, Montana. He’s now a widower and in declining health, which is how Ansley Campbell, the youngest of the six Texas Campbells, gets to Montana. She seizes the opportunity to escape her 5 big meddling brothers and overbearing father to stay with Uncle Clyde on the ranch and make sure he’s getting the help he needs. It’s in Marietta (okay at Marietta Medical, the local hospital) she meets Rye Calhoun, who is in town to compete in the Copper Mountain Rodeo. And well, the rest is in the book 1, Take Me Please, Cowboy.

Book 2, Bear’s Heart, is the story of Rye Calhoun’s little sister, the lovely, lively Josie Calhoun, who is finishing school to be an interior designer with a focus on accessible design. The youngest Calhoun, Jasper, has CP and has spent his life in a wheelchair, making Josie passionate about inclusive design. Which is how she meets Bear Anderson, a bullrider and Montana legend, except that he’s returning home paralyzed after a bullriding accident in Tulsa. In Bear’s Heart we also meet Bear’s ex, Savannah Webb, a country singer who did Bear wrong when he was in the hospital and shouldn’t be part of Bear’s life anymore, but is.

Book 3, A Soldier’s Promise, releases in four days and is the story of Savannah (yes, that Savannah) and Finn Campbell, one of Ansley’s gorgeous older brothers. Finn and his dad had words at Thanksgiving and since they still aren’t talking, Finn flies to Montana to update the security system at Cold Canyon Ranch, before heading back to the Middle East. But not everything is as it seems in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Just as a teaser, Book 4 comes out this Fall, and it’s another Calhoun & Campbell pairing–and it’s a fiery one!

Now, I’ve told you everything I said in the video but in less than 4 minutes! Which books have you read? Do you have a fav character? Talk to me and someone might get something fun from me. 🙂

One Book and Two Covers!

March 19, 2026March 19, 2026 by Jane · View all 25 comments

One of my best friends, Lee Hyat, who is also Tule’s Director of Design, manages, as well as creates, hundreds of Tule covers every year…from the beginning in 2013. Some authors have outside designers, and some have several different designers on their books, but I’ve only had Lee for my Tule books. I think that means she’s done 24 covers for me, and that’s before the two most recent series rebranding for Taming of the Sheenans, and Love on Chance Avenue got a refresh.

I’m very visual. I love art, I collect art, usually big landscapes that fill my walls. I also love local artists, thus the Oahu house is filled with paintings by Hawaiian artists, and the new Montana and Indiana cabins are getting works by local artists. I think art breathes life into spaces, much like windows in a home.

What does this have to do with my book covers? Not much, other than to say, I work with Lee on my covers long before the book is written. She starts the cover even as I start the book as the finished cover becomes my road map, helping convey the book’s emotional tone, not just the characters on the front.

But being me, I sometimes shift directions and sometimes change lanes very abruptly. I will push a book away when I’m struggling to work on something fresh, and this impacts a story if it shifts from say, Christmas, to February, or February to summer. Lovely Lee rolls with my changes, even if it means I have extra covers stacking up for a period of time until I get the new books written.

All of this brings me to A Soldier’s Promise, my one book with two covers. The story was supposed to come out, oh, last year, and then I was wrestling with the story, and unhappy with choices I was making, and did one of my abrupt lane changes, and Tule was kind enough to push back A Soldier’s Promise so I could write A Very English Christmas instead.

I loved writing A Very English Christmas, and it gave me fresh energy for returning to Finn and Savannah’s story. When I did return to Montana and my very pregnant Savannah and my visiting Texas soldier, I had a different vision in mind for the cover, one featuring a soldier, rather than a mother and baby. But many of my readers loved the mother and baby cover and wanted to own a print edition with Savannah and the baby. An equal number of readers said they preferred the new soldier cover, suggesting it would sell better in the digital market (which I did agree with). So wonderful Lee has made me two print covers, and while I can only sell one on Amazon and B&N, etc, I can sell both in my Jane Porter Shop.

(By the way, you do know I have an online shop, don’t you? The shop link is janeportershop.com and this is the link to the one book with two covers! https://janeportershop.com/collections/the-calhouns-campbells-of-cold-canyon-ranch)

So, for a chance to win a $20 Gift Card to spend in my JP Shop, tell me which cover you prefer (the soldier or mother and a baby) and if it was a good or bad decision to make two covers for one book. The winner will be drawn from the comments and announced Monday, March 23rd.

Words and the New March Release

February 23, 2026February 28, 2026 by Jane · View all 25 comments

I don’t know if it was Year of the Fire Horse energy, or just intense energy in my world, but the last few weeks have had me working hard. Hard, hard. Deadlines, paperwork, phone calls, appointments, zooms, and then of course writing. (Which should be the number 1 thing, but often gets pushed to the side.)

Happily, I have finished A Soldier’s Promise and it comes out in just over a month on March 25th.

This is a story that was started over a year ago, and it didn’t work for me. I set it aside and fumed and fussed and worried, and ended up writing a different story in between which was just what I needed.

But I had to come back to Savannah and Finn’s story and when I did return to the manuscript again in January, it was almost as hard the second time around. This isn’t just a layered, emotional story featuring a women’s fiction type heroine, but it’s also a romance with a tough soldier who definitely isn’t looking for anything, and whatever he gives, it’s only for duty’s sake.

As I wrestled with the story the last few months I kept wondering why? Why this story? Why have I made these choices?

And of course: Why don’t I pick something easier and lighter?

If you’ve been reading me for a number of years, you know I don’t write rom-com and even though I love great dialogue, and heat, and conflict, I also want characters that could be real, not just romance heroes and heroines. not that good at making my characters do what I want. And these characters refused to change. Their goals refused to change. Even as their need for each other increased.

But the story did come together and I feel an immense sense of relief that these two did get their happy-ever-after because they deserve it. Savannah deserves it, and honestly she deserves someone as strong and patient as Finn.

Having A Soldier’s Promise done and off to copy editors means I can breathe and also try to be patient for the next month until I start hearing from my readers. This might be my 76th book, I still very much look forward to those first few messages and reviews–and it’s always so reassuring when readers embrace a new book. (I make that sound very formal when what I really mean is that I get sooo excited when readers like it! It’s thrilling and I get emotional and I smile and walk around all lit up like a Christmas tree.)

It’s been a long time since I have had books out relatively close together so A Very English Christmas, out in December and now A Soldier’s Promise end of March, is another positive in my writing life. I feel like I’ve got my mojo back and am excited that there will be two more books for my readers this Fall.

If you haven’t read all 76 books I’ve written, this is a good time to get caught up. 😉

Have any questions? Want to chat about anything? Talk to me!

Heading to Dallas!

December 3, 2025December 3, 2025 by Jane · One comment so far

I’m excited to be flying to Dallas this weekend to join DARA, RWA’s Dallas chapter, for their annual holiday party. I’m going to be speaking and feeling festive with my fellow romance authors, and then after the DARA meeting in the morning, I am hosting a holiday tea in the Bishop Arts District at Potpourri Boulangerie. There will be 25 of us which is the perfect size for a Christmas tea.

Originally I’d hoped to have copies of my new book, A Very English Christmas, with me but the pub date was pushed back to December 10th. But I am so pleased that my new story is going to be out very soon, a week from today as a matter of fact. The countdown has begun!

And those of you who have read me, and followed my career, know it’s very unusual for me to go so long without having a book out which makes this new release extra special. My year of migraines did a number on me. Fortunately, the migraines are down (I still get a few a month, but not nearly every day) and I’ve created new external organization systems which help my memory, as well as taking some supplements to help focus, and that has got me excited about being creative. So much energy was spent trying to remember what I’d written, what I needed to write, and where I wanted scenes to go (I write out of order which doesn’t help) that it made it increasingly challenging to write new fresh scenes. But that is behind me now, and I’m nearly done with my February release, A Soldier’s Promise, which feels even better.

You can preorder A Very English Christmas ebook from all online retailers now, or you can also order a signed copy of the book from my new online shop. https://janeportershop.com/ and I will have that in the mail to you the moment the print books are in my hands.

Do check out my online shop and let me know what you think. Happy December, and much love to you, always.

Christmas Stories on Screen. A Very Proud Moment!

November 19, 2025 by Jane · One comment so far

I promised last week that I’d share more about our Christmas movies, and here I am, finally catching my breath long enough to sit down and write to you. Life has been wonderfully full lately — Tule books, Tule films (yes, four Lifetime Christmas movies this year…isn’t that so cool?), my own December release, and then just everything else we all juggle this time of year. But today I wanted to pause, take a deep breath, and tell you something that fills me with so much joy and gratitude.

We have four beautiful books from Tule Publishing airing as Lifetime Christmas movies this holiday season. Four! I’m so proud of the authors who created these stories. I’ve watched them work so hard, often through real life storms, kids, deadlines, detours, and those days where writing feels like slogging uphill in the rain. And yet their stories shine. Truly shine.

Let me tell you about each one, because they deserve their moment.

Rodeo Christmas Romance

Based on: Catching a Christmas Cowboy by Leah Vale
Premiere: Saturday, December 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Leah wrote a story with so much grit and tenderness that it stayed with me long after I finished it. This adaptation follows a fiercely independent rodeo bronc rider who’s caring for her injured horse over Christmas when she ends up clashing, and connecting with a brooding veteran. Two guarded hearts, one snow-covered ranch, and the kind of healing only the holidays can bring.

The Christmas Cookbook

Based on: The X-Mas Club by Lenora Worth
Premiere: Friday, December 5 at 10 p.m. ET/PT

Oh, Lenora. Her stories always have so much warmth, and this one is exactly what we need at the end of a long year. Our heroine joins a foodie Christmas club created for solo holiday celebrators with one rule: no romance allowed. Except rules tend to crumble when the right man walks in. It’s cozy and charming and festive in every way. A movie to watch with cocoa in hand and maybe a blanket wrapped around your shoulders.

The Christmas Clues

Based on: The Christmas Clues by Scarlet Wilson
Streaming: Available now at ctv.ca/movies/the-christmas-clues

This film is pure holiday delight. Scarlet created a whimsical, heartfelt puzzle of a story where former students return home for a festive treasure hunt set up by their late mentor. And of course, two old flames are thrown together as they unravel clues, feelings, and second chances. I love second chances. I love hometowns. I love Christmas. So yes, this one hits all my buttons.

A Runaway Bride for Christmas

Based on: The Runaway Christmas Bride by Scarlet Wilson
Premiere: Friday, December 12 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

Scarlet has not one, but two movies this year. (Yes, I’m beaming.) This story follows Emma, a runaway bride who finds herself back in the only town she’s truly belonged to, only to run straight into her former high school crush. But her ex is determined to win her back, and Emma must decide what her heart is brave enough to choose. It’s tender, emotional, romantic — everything a Christmas movie should be.

I’m so proud of these authors I could burst. They pour their hearts into their books, and seeing those stories become films is incredibly special. These movies represent years of creativity, dedication, grit, belief, and pure storytelling joy. To Lenora, Leah, and Scarlet — thank you for trusting Tule with your books, and thank you for writing stories that matter.

And to you, my readers… thank you for being part of this world with me. Thank you for showing up, caring, cheering, and celebrating. You are my community. When I get to share news like this, I immediately want to share it with you.

Let’s enjoy this season together. The lights, the books, the movies, the moments that remind us we belong and we’re not alone. I’ll keep writing, you keep reading, and we’ll keep believing in happy endings.

xox
Jane

It’s Beginning to Feel Festive!

November 12, 2025 by Jane · View all 28 comments

I am nearing the end of this year’s Christmas book. It should have been done weeks ago (months ago?) but life keeps happening as I keep working on Tule books and Tule film (Tule has 4 Christmas Lifetime movies plus 1 non Christmas movie) in November and December. Isn’t that so cool? I’ll be sharing more about those later in the week. Fortunately, I have a complete book and am just doing that extra touches and edits that make it a book I love.

I am also working on the very fun reader author event called, appropriately, Reader Author Get Together. It’s a 20 year event, created by Lori Foster and I agreed to take it on for the next however many years. It’s held every June in Greater Cincinnati–this year from June 3-6th. Registration just opened and with 60+ authors attending, and 350+ readers, it’s a blast. It’s jam packed with meals and parties, activities and writing sessions, plus spotlights on some of the featured authors attending like Brenda Novak, Jill Shelves, and Sherrilyn Kenyon. Lori Foster will be there, too, along with a bunch of my friends, and some very cool Tule authors. Check out the author list and event details here: https://readerauthorgettogether.com/

But let’s get back to my December 10th Christmas release. This festive holiday story is lovely and infused with all my favorite things–handsome successful heroes who are still trying to figure out how to do it all, wonderful warm heroines who need a place where she can truly belong, and little girls who are not cooperating because (at least one of them) is eleven going on sixteen and feeling very misunderstood. A Very English Christmas is set on the Langley Park estate outside the market town Bakewell, and it’s very Jane Porter…emotional, conflicted, hopeful, and most of all, happy at the end. 🙂

Have you read the first two books in the Love at Langley Park series? Who are you hoping to see return in this new book? What makes these books set in England fun for you? Answer these questions, or even just one of the question, and you could win a very special British Holiday Giveaway. Winner announced from the comments on Monday.

Thinking, Feeling, Believing

October 9, 2025 by Jane · View all 31 comments

I have the most interesting, and sometimes perplexing, conversations with my sons. The three boys (okay, two are men now, but still) are all so different and wired differently, and respond to life differently.

My oldest, Jake, despite all, is my optimist. He embraces life with gusto and seeks to squeeze out every bit of adventure and happiness and I support him living life his way. He’s going to take a half glass and be glad there is something in it.

My middle, Ty, is the most well read, and is extremely articulate and analytical. He, though, isn’t the optimist of the bunch. He’s very loving with me, but he is definitely my glass is happy empty guy. In fact, his glass might even be dry.

The youngest, Mac, is driven by logic, and has that engineering type approach to life. Set steps. Measured. Exacting. And what glass? Why discuss a glass? What does a glass have to do with anything?

Now I, as you can probably guess, am all about possibility and so my glass is never empty, and it will always have something, even if it’s just enough. For me, there is always going to be hope, and fierce love, and even fiercer optimism. As long as I have my family and friends, I will be okay. I just need my people, and stories, and something beautiful to look at, whether it’s the sunset, a vase of flowers from the garden, or a beloved blanket made for me.

I wish I didn’t feel as much as I do, though. Because if I didn’t feel so much, I wouldn’t be so emotional. But then, I wouldn’t be so dang grateful for all the love I know. I wouldn’t be grateful for my readers and friends, those people who are in my life not because they have to be, but because they choose to be. And isn’t that a marvelous thing? To belong. To be part of something bigger than myself. To have a world that keeps me safe and sane.

I love you all. That’s not said lightly. I have my faith, and then I have you. My glue, my compass, my sunshine and star shine. Thank you. I believe in you. I believe in us.

xox

The World We Live In

September 16, 2025 by Jane · View all 14 comments

I wrote a heartfelt blog earlier this morning after one of my sons and I had a conversation that troubled me so much I had to say something to you, my friends, my readers, my world and then when I went to post it, my laptop crashed. So here I am, three hours later, trying again.

The conversation I had with my son has stayed with me, and it weighs on me because he’s not alone. He’s not wrong.

My son is afraid we’re being manipulated by powers outside ourselves, setting us up for irreversible damage and harm, conflict that pits us against each other, forcing us to take sides.

I told him we are stronger than these outside forces–whether American politics or world politics–where there are clear signs of power grabs, power not intended to bring us together but to create division. To create fear. To take words and turn them into weapons, so that all we see and know is violence.

I told this son of mine that we can’t be manipulated if we come together and stay together. I told him that I have hope. And I do. I spend time with readers and friends outside my suburb and state, and these readers and friends are good people, people with hearts and minds, people who want the best for us all, not just a few. People who believe in our country as much as I do. We are Americans, and we crave democracy and justice. We crave peace. We crave security.

Let us not let the news, or TikTok, or sound bites from this official or that official, shape us. Dictate to us. Confuse us. Let us not be swayed by voices that aren’t wanting us to be unified, but divided, because divided we can be trampled and broken. Divided we lack strength and its easier to sow fear.

I won’t let the news tie me into knots. I won’t let social media make me heartsick this week. I have muted, and unfollowed, and unfriended so many ‘friends’ in the last week, not because they lie or deceive, but they are amplifying noise that may or may not be the best for this country. They may or may not realize what it’s like to be on the receiving end of dozens and dozens of negative messages.

We are allowed to feel what we feel. We are allowed to be hurt, shocked, enraged, grief stricken, afraid, despondent. We are allowed to be humans, and be overwhelmed and exhausted. Or livid and loud.

However, each of us is responsible for taking care of our mental health, and our physical health, and making sure we do all the research necessary to ensure the messages we share are complete, and in context. We need to know what we say is true, and even then, we don’t need to flog each other with what we’ve learned.

I say let us share with love, with hope, with the Peace of God which surpasses all understanding. (Philippians 4:7). We don’t have to be torn apart. We don’t have to be afraid. We don’t have to be manipulated and played.

We can stand firm, and we can stand together. You. Me. Us. We.

Let’s Get Together : Upcoming Events!

September 11, 2025September 15, 2025 by Jane · View all 18 comments

I’ve spent so much time with my head down, writing and working in recent months, it’s got me excited to be doing events and seeing my readers and friends.

Some of my upcoming events:

Friday, September 12, 2025 – I will be attending the Lewis County AAUW’s Evening with Authors in Centralia, WA as I’m being featured along with author Patrick Hutchinson during a moderated discussion. The event is a fundraiser is a benefit for the Hope Alliance which supports victims of domestic violence. This is a ticketed event.

Saturday, September 13, 2025 – I am the Keynote Speaker at the Southwest Washington Writers Conference for a one day event and giving two craft workshops.

Thursday, October 9, 2025 – I’ll be at In Bloom Bookery in Temecula, CA for a fun book event with stand-up comedian and author Kelsey Humphreys. For more details and booking your spot, click here. **Event Canceled! Unfortunately, Kelsey had to cancel this event but Jane is working on getting it rescheduled for December so do check back for further details in the coming weeks.***

Saturday, December 6, 2025 – I’m hosting a special Holiday Reader Tea in Dallas. Seating is limited but there are still some spaces available if you can join me.

Friday, April 17, 2026 – I’ll be joining dozens of other amazing authors for An Evening with the Stars. More details to come but mark it on your calendar if you’re in the area.

Friday, April 18-19, 2026 – I’m in Florida to give a workshop at the Writing for Success 2026 Conference. It’s a small conference but my friend and colleague, Sinclair, will also be there representing Tule.

Wednesday, June 3 – 6, 2026 – I’ll be back in Erlanger, Kentucky for RAGT 2026, the Annual Reader Author Get Together. Tickets are on sale January 6th. It’s a special four days and if you’re looking for a book community, this is it!

I will be listing more events are they are locked in so do keep an eye on my events page and I’ll shout when something new gets added.

For a chance to win a special surprise JP giveaway, share if you’ve had a chance to meet Jane yet and where. Winner announced on Wednesday!