Writers Magazine 2008

Janey Jones and Princess Poppy

Janey Jones has worked hard to achieve her success. Born in Edinburgh, where she still lives, she read English at Edinburgh University and then became a teacher. With her husband she set up the Jelly Club, which has become a successful chain of children’s activity centres in Scotland.

Janey is a mother of three and her Princess Poppy books, of which there are 18 in all, deal with issues children face in their lives. In her interview on Meet the Author she says that it was ‘very moving for me that children are loving the series’. She published her first two Princess Poppy books herself, with her own illustrations, but the series was then picked up by Random House Children’s Books and has now sold 320,000 copies. She has just signed up for a new project, a teenage historical romance. Her publisher Annie Eaton said ‘Imagine Georgette Heyer mets the Princes diaries and you’ll get the picture.’

Janey’s website seems to have played a major part in her success, showing that even quite young children can be reached online. It’s fun and entertaining for them to visit with games, a maze and desktop wallpaper to download. Princess Poppy has become a firm favourite with children and the author has succeeded in developing her series into a strong children’s brand.

Princess Poppy website

Meet the Author interview