About

Hi! I’m Jenna Harte, a die-hard romantic, writing about characters who are passionate about and committed to each other, and frequently getting into trouble. I’m the author of Valentine Mysteries, the first of which, “Deadly Valentine,” reached the quarter-finals in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award in 2013.

I also penned the Southern Heat contemporary romance series, and the Sophie Parker Coupon Mysteries. 

I have a bundle of stories filled with romance, mystery, adventure, and even time travel rattling around in my head and am eager for the day when a device is created that will allow me to download what’s in my brain onto my computer. With the advances in AI and other technology, this might not be far-fetched!

I’m passionate about chocolate, strong, dark coffee, and Disney. My dream is to live on a beach with a large lanai, with banana, coconut and mango trees where I can write and never be cold.

When I’m not telling stories, I work by day as a ghostwriter and manage my free online community for romance authors, Write with Harte. I'm an empty nester living in central Virginia with my husband and a cat.

Here are some interesting (or maybe not so interesting) factoids about me:

1. Writing always terrified me, so I’m baffled to how I got here.

2. I first started writing fiction in sixth grade making up stories about characters on my favorite television show (the term fan fiction hadn’t been invented yet. Neither had the Internet.)

3. Currently (2023), I’ve finished seven books and two novellas in the Valentine Mysteries, and am plotting book eight with other ideas to follow.

4. Both the Valentine and Delecoeur Mysteries pay homage to one of my favorite movies, The Thin Man and to Nick and Nora Charles’ more modern day (if the 1980’s can be considered modern-day) counterparts, Jonathan and Jennifer Hart.

5. I have another series idea rattling around in my head that pays tribute to another favorite old movie, Topper.

6. I’m not as old as my love of old movies would suggest. I am as old as my love of Hart to Hart suggests.

7. Like my character Tess, I love good chocolate and old R&B tunes. I’m still working on getting some Carine Gilson underwear to see if I’d love them as much as Tess does. A set can cost several hundred dollars, so I have to wait until more books sell.

 

ABOUT THE VALENTINE MYSTERIES

 

I have loved stories about couples since I was a kid. My favorite characters on TV shows were usually the happily married ones. I especially loved it when they were getting into trouble through mystery or adventure. 

As I got older, I read mysteries, but wished they had more romance, and read romance, but wished they didn't end after the book. I set out to find books that combined both; a mystery series with highly romantic (read intimate bits) elements. JD Robb's In Death series was all I found at the time. I love that series, but I was looking for something a little lighter. Something with the banter from the Thin Man and Hart to Hart. Since it didn't exist, I decided to write it. 

Jack and Tess are a sleuthing couple who stumble over dead bodies by day, and tumble into bed at night. Each book is a stand-alone mystery (no cliffhangers). Starting from Deadly Valentine, we see their relationship grow in each book. 

There seems to be a belief in TV that happy couples can't be interesting. It's why the minute they're happy together, something comes to pull them apart. The exception was Hart to Hart. While Jack and Tess have some growing pains, they're proof that a passionate committed couple can be fun and entertaining as they work together to solve crimes.