Jane Elizabeth Hughes
Jane Elizabeth Hughes is a professor of international finance at Simmons College School of Business in Boston. Using the creative right side of her brain, Jane published her first novel, Nannyland, with Simon & Schuster Pocket Star Books in 2016 and is now publishing The Long-Lost Jules with She Writes Press.
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
Before I took a sabbatical to pursue my dream of writing novels, I was an international banker, then finance professor and consultant. The truth is that I struggle with believing in myself as an international finance expert pretty much all the time. I’m a shining example of the Imposter Syndrome, which is loosely defined as thinking you’re a phony and are in constant danger of being exposed as a fraud (and is widespread among high-achieving women). I wish I could say that I overcame that belief, but it’s always hiding in some dark little recess of my brain. I just push past it, every time I teach a class or give a lecture.
When I was a young baby banker, an odd series of events brought me into the bank chairman’s office to brief him on an emergency in Mexican financial markets. In those days, women had to pretend they were just short men, so I wore a black suit, white blouse, and little bowtie (I kid you not). My knees were literally knocking together, which was unfortunate since he never asked me to sit down and I had to stand there, staring up at his burly six-foot-plus body of sheer muscle. I realized that I’d forgotten to pee before he called me in, and flew into a panic.
But then my mind supplied a fun fact: Both the chairman and I had gone to Princeton (many decades apart, to be sure; when he went, it was an all-male bastion, and I was in the fourth graduating class of women). Rumor had it that he had a Princeton tiger tattooed on his beefy bottom. Suddenly I was able to remind myself that no matter how much taller and bigger and more distinguished he was than little old me, I definitely knew more about the Mexican peso than he did. I pictured the tiger on his tushie and started talking.
But here’s the funny thing: As a novelist, I’ve never struggled with believing in myself. Never. No matter how many rejection letters I got or how many discouraging setbacks I encountered, I’ve always believed that my books are good. I’ve always believed that women will enjoy my books – the historical and current-day mysteries, the romance, the suspense – and will want to read more. I have no idea where I got this confidence; I just know I believe in my books. It’s amazing, because I doubt myself in virtually every other area of my life!
What’s the oddest thing a reader has ever asked you?
“Where do you get your idea for a book?” It’s odd because I don’t need just one idea for a book, I need hundreds, and they come from thousands of places. As one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Peters, once wrote, “You didn’t get ideas. You smelled them out, tracked them down, wrestled them into submission; you pursued them with forks and hope, and if you were lucky enough to catch one you impaled it, with the forks, before the sneaky little devil could get away.”
In fact, everything that I do informs my writing and my characters. Sometimes it might be a stranger on a train; sometimes it might be a chance remark by a friend or colleague – but everything eventually inspires my books. I’m a secret-keeper, which helped to find its way into both Amy and Leo in The Long-Lost Jules; just like them, it’s been a long and challenging journey for me to let loose some of my secrets. I’ve worked in international banking, so I channeled some of that fiercely competitive and high-stakes atmosphere into Amy’s office. My international travels also helped me create the lush background for Amy and Leo’s travels; I’ve been everywhere that they visited, from Prague to Carcassonne to Berlin. When I travel, I let my imagination fly loose and I keep a journal with jottings about what might have happened in some of those spots – I saw Leo transfixed in front of a museum exhibit, for example, and Amy and Leo taking shelter in an ancient, crumbling castle niche.
Favorite non-reading activity?
Zumba! When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a ballerina even more than I wanted to be a novelist. But I never quite topped five feet tall, with some extra inches around my waist and flat feet – also no talent. Now I get to dance in my Zumba classes and pretend I’m in A Chorus Line!
Is there another profession you would like to try?
When my daughter was around five, she told us she wanted to be a tourist when she grew up. That sounded like a great idea to me!
What brings you great joy?
Reading. Writing. Family -- my long-suffering husband, my four children, my precious grandchildren. (We had eight of them in just seven years, so they’re a very exhausting joy.) Buttered popcorn and pecan pie with gobs of whipped cream on top. Dancing. Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles, and Ariana Grande. Bookstores. Beaches.
