Some things to know about Jan S. Gephardt: she commutes daily between her Kansas City-area home and two other universes: the sunny balcony in the Wizards’ Village where she makes her paper sculpture, and a habitat space station the size of New York City, far from Earth and several hundred years in the future, where she writes science fiction novels about a sapient police dog.
Her assorted apprenticeships reveal key clues about Jan. They included a career in teaching (she holds a Master of Arts in Multicultural Education), parenting, freelancing in graphic design, marketing, art-publishing, a couple of brief stints as a journalist, fostering rescue dogs, estate liquidations, and cooperating in a long-term marriage partnership. One important thing about Jan is the importance of family in her life.
All of this, while steeping herself in the writing craft.
Publishing and Art
Her current multi-book series begins with the XK9 “Bones” Trilogy. It stars a pack of uplifted police dogs who know how to manage humans and sniff out criminals.
In 2019 she formed a partnership with her sister, G. S. Norwood, to create Weird Sisters Publishing LLC. Another thing to know about Jan: writing and publishing is a lifelong dream for her.
No writeup about Jan is complete without visual art. Her fantasy artwork has been a regular feature in regional sf conventions since 1981. Since 2007 she’s developed a unique paper sculpture technique. This artwork has been featured in regionally-exhibited one-person shows, and juried into national shows all over the United States. Most recently, her artistic talents have focused on art direction and marketing imagery for Weird Sisters Publishing.
Another thing about Jan: You can find her on social media. She’s currently active on Facebook as both author and artist, and she manages the Weird Sisters Facebook Page. Also look for her on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Substack, and Mastodon.
About Jan and her Work
If you haven’t met the XK9s, please take a moment to acquaint yourself with this pack of uplifted police dogs, because you can learn a lot about Jan and her outlook on things from them. For a broader look at her art direction work, look over the “Our Books” page at Weird Sisters Publishing. There are more to come this winter. And don’t miss a look at her Paper Sculpture Gallery. She has a new series in the works. It should show up there first.