Author J.A. Jance to speak at UW Tacoma Commencement

Best-selling Seattle mystery author J.A. Jance will deliver the keynote address at the University of Washington Tacoma's 17th annual Commencement ceremony at the Tacoma Dome Friday, June 8, at 10 a.m.

Jance is the author of more than 30 novels and the creator of the mystery series starring Seattle detective J.P. Beaumont, whom The Seattle Times called "a distinguished elder of Northwest crime fiction." Her work, which also includes the Joanna Brady mystery series, has made frequent appearances on The New York Times Best-Seller List.

Jance's dreams of writing were almost thwarted in college, when a creative writing professor who believed women "ought to be teachers or nurses" refused to allow her to take his class. In 1982, Jance, then a single mother of two with no child support, started writing. Her first three books were written between the hours of 4 and 7 a.m., before she had to wake her children for school.

Jance was selected as the Commencement speaker by a committee of students, staff and faculty, based on suggestions from the UW Tacoma community.

Nearly 900 students will graduate from UW Tacoma as part of the Class of 2007, the university's largest-ever graduating class.