Jaz Draper

What do I like? Show me your story, don’t tell me.

I look for:

Clear, concise, grammatically correct writing. Characters who are three-dimensional, unique and yet resonate with a part of everyone. Colorful, vivid descriptions. Clever, realistic dialogue.

♦♦♦♦♦

SVW member Jaz Draper may have only moved to the Shenandoah Valley a couple of years ago, but don’t let that fool you: within minutes she was elbows deep in helping run a hydroponic farm and CSA, and now does her best keeping up with her own 1,100-square foot garden. A joyfully obsessive, self-taught foodie, Jaz makes her own bread, yogurt, and cheese, and has yet to allow a single recipe to her table without tweaking it first.

When she’s not weeding her garden or improving recipes, Jaz can be found writing or up to her ears in books (ask her about her massive Arthurian legend-related collection). While she’s published numerous articles, including an essay in Potluck Wisdom for the Pharmaceutical Professional, it’s her in-progress novel that’s been chasing her of late (along with hooligans armed with paintballs–ask her about that too).

Jaz says she has fallen in love with the Valley and couldn’t be happier. “I am in awe of the simple yet breathtaking beauty surrounding me,” she says. “And the baby cows always make me stop what I am doing and smile.”