About Jan
In short…
Jan Sorrento writes about fractured lives, hidden pasts, the meaning of family, and identity – stories that will appeal to book club readers and fans of upmarket women’s fiction.
Her fictional characters inhabit richly textured worlds and face life with dark humour, determination and sometimes blind, brave hope. Despite their challenges, they almost always come through with strength and optimism – no matter how fragile these may seem to be.
Jan is also a freelance writer with an interest in travel, food, and lifestyle. She has visited almost 40 countries (so far) and lived in five. When she is not on the road, or writing about people and places over at Honey Road, she’s off in her own little world, working on her second novel. The first one is resting.
More of the story…
Jan wrote her first tale at age five (“See Billy Bee fly. Look! Look! Look!”) and won her first writing competition at 13. A love of reading and make-believe buffered a lonely childhood and ignited her passion for dark, quirky stories and faraway places.
Her earliest memories include shivering as a three-year-old under a ‘cities of the world’ signpost at the old Bluff lookout, at the bottom of the South Island in New Zealand, and frequently poring over a hefty Times atlas with her dad.
Destinations. Words. Possibilities.
Jan’s future direction was set.
Jan left home aged 18, equipped with just one suitcase, her dad’s hanky (for those pesky last-minute tears), and a tattered old bear named Boo. She has kept all of them. And the atlas.
Travel beckoned (and still does), with Takayama – high in the Japanese Alps, Venice, and New York among Jan’s favourite places. When it came time to work for a living, Jan opted for an international career in journalism, PR, and communications. She then changed direction and spent 20+ years as a senior executive in the not-for-profit sector. These experiences underpin her ‘fork in the road’ fiction, adding depth and nuance to the characters that distract her daily with their ethical problems, secrets and misadventures.
Post-Covid, Jan ditched her job in community services and moved to a small island off the coast of New Zealand. There, in her 60s, she discovered you’re never too old to learn how to handle a boat, make gin, and wield a chainsaw as well as a pen.
She’s now back in Australia – at least for a while – and dreams of adopting an old rescue dog. She promises she won’t try to teach it new tricks.