Jay Jacobs

Jay Jacobs is an author and unpaid cook, cleaner, hairdresser, gardener, painter and decorator and general jack-of-all-trades. Her range of previous jobs – mostly paid, for what it’s worth – is also extensive: from petrol pump attendant to veterinary assistant, waitress to seal-rescuer, marketing information executive to teaching assistant. 

Her formative years were spent in several locations in North America and she was fortunate to visit many beautiful places. On returning to the UK, she’s lived in quite a few different parts of England and has now settled in green, hilly (and often rather soggy) Devon. 

From an early age, Jay’s been fascinated by what happens after someone dies. The cloud-men in Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach formed her first impressions of a ‘heavenly’ existence. When her sister told her about a little boy having a near-death experience, she was drawn to investigate. She found a vast range of accounts and it felt like she’d discovered a whole new world. It was very life-affirming and inspired her to write an entertaining novel to give readers a similar sense of reassurance.