Born and raised on a North Dakota farm, Jannifer started writing at the age of twelve, creating
novels in her head while walking home from a one-room schoolhouse. A lifetime avid reader, she
 began serious writing in 1974 after reading The Flame and the Flower and Sweet Savage Love.

After completing two historical romances, Ceremony of Deception and Silver Shadows, she decided
to try her hand at contemporary romance. It took a year to complete Secrets of the Heart. The sequel, Secret Sacrifices, took nearly two years.