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Jan Hurst-Nicholson

Goodreads Author

Born

in Wirral, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.just4kix.jimdo.com

Twitter

just4kixbooks

Genre

Fiction, Children's, Humor and Comedy

Influences

Monica Dickens

Member Since

September 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/janhurst-nicholson

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Jan Hurst-Nicholson has been writing for about 25 years. Her articles, humorous articles and short stories have appeared in South African and overseas magazines and these were compiled into a book: ‘Something to Read on the Plane’ a bit of light literature, short stories & other fun stuff.

Her first children’s book was ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the missing canary eggs’ published by Gecko Books, and was one of Bookchat’s 1993 South African Books of the Year. This was followed by ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the kidnapped mouse’ (both now available as e-books on Amazon) ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the bottled bat’ is awaiting publication. These are humorous, animal, detective stories set in a nature reserve.
‘Bheki and th Jan Hurst-Nicholson has been writing for about 25 years. Her articles, humorous articles and short stories have appeared in South African and overseas magazines and these were compiled into a book: ‘Something to Read on the Plane’ a bit of light literature, short stories & other fun stuff.

Her first children’s book was ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the missing canary eggs’ published by Gecko Books, and was one of Bookchat’s 1993 South African Books of the Year. This was followed by ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the kidnapped mouse’ (both now available as e-books on Amazon) ‘Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the bottled bat’ is awaiting publication. These are humorous, animal, detective stories set in a nature reserve.
‘Bheki and the Magic Light,’ which tells of a rural child’s fascination with a torch, was published by Penguin SA.
‘Jake,’ was published by Cambridge University Press.
The Race (an inspirational story for LEFT-HANDERS)is now avilable as an e-book

Born in the UK, Jan emigrated from Liverpool to South Africa in the 1970s. Her experiences moving to a new continent were the inspiration for her humorous novel ‘But Can You Drink The Water?’ which was a semi-finalist (top 50 out of 5000) in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.
This is now available on Amazon as a Kindle digital book and has sold over 15 000 copies.

Jan worked in the R&D department of a large bakery for several years, and this gave her the idea for ‘The Breadwinners,’ a family saga spanning 50 years and set in Durban. This is now available on Amazon as a Kindle digital book.

Jan has also written a YA novel, Mystery at Ocean Drive, which was a runner-up in the 2010 Citizen/Pan MacMillan YA novel award, and is now available as a Kindle digital book.

Jan's latest novel is "With the Headmaster's Approval" a contemporary story set in the UK,

Jan has also written a non-fiction book. PUBLIC SPEAKING - Banish the Butterflies. A must-read for anyone involved with public speaking.

Jan’s writing also appears in ‘Edge Words’ (20 stories from the Cheshire Prize for Literature 2006) published by University of Chester, ‘Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul’ and ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul 101 best stories On Being a Parent,’ and ‘Summer Shorts’.

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Average rating: 3.56 · 727 ratings · 112 reviews · 22 distinct works

	But Can You Drink the Water? 3.57 avg rating — 380 ratings — published 2010 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Something to Read on the Plane: A bit of Light Literature, Short Stories & Other Fun Stuff 3.10 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 2014 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	With the Headmaster's Approval: A feel-good story of secrets, scandals and second chances 3.23 avg rating — 40 ratings — published 2013 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Breadwinners: A Family Saga 3.53 avg rating — 36 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Leon Chameleon P.I. and the Case of the Kidnapped Mouse by Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Goodreads Author), Barbara McGuire (Illustrator) 4.22 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 1995 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Leon Chameleon P.I. and the Case of the Missing Canary Eggs 4.93 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1993 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Race: An Inspiring Story for Left-Handers 4.50 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Mystery at Ocean Drive 3.64 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bheki and the Magic Light really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 1996 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Made These Up really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2013	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Jan Hurst-Nicholson

Leon Chameleon (2 books)
by

Jan Hurst-Nicholson (Goodreads Author),

Barbara McGuire (Illustrator)

4.46 avg rating — 41 ratings

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Jan’s Recent Updates

Jan Hurst-Nicholson made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — ROMANCE WITH A TWIST free 13-17 Aug 2026 topic " ROMANCE WITH A TWIST. [image] With the Headmaster's Approval: a feel good story of secrets, scandals and second chances #FREE on Amazon 13-17 Aug. w ...more "
Aug 14, 2026 07:36AM
Jan Hurst-Nicholson made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — ROMANCE WITH A TWIST - free 13-17August 2026 topic " ROMANCE WITH A TWIST. FREE 13-17 August on Amazon websites. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HB6329C US https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HB6329C UK Lust shout ...more "
Aug 14, 2026 02:57AM
Jan Hurst-Nicholson made a comment in the group UK Amazon Kindle Forum — Post information about your free book in this thread. Do not post before your book is free. topic " ROMANCE WITH A TWIST. [image] FREE 13-17 August 2026 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HB6329C Lust shouts. Love whispers. Only the heart knows the diff ...more "
Aug 13, 2026 09:09AM
Jan Hurst-Nicholson made a comment in the group Book Promotions — ROMANCE with a twist topic " FREE 13-17 August 2026 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HB6329C [image] ROMANCE WITH A TWIST. Lust shouts. Love whispers. Only the heart knows the differ ...more "
Aug 13, 2026 09:01AM
Jan Hurst-Nicholson is now friends with Mary Buck
Jun 11, 2026 04:56AM · like
Jan Hurst-Nicholson joined the groups Turn of a Page and Indie Voices: Authors & Books
Jun 06, 2026 01:10AM
Jan Hurst-Nicholson made a comment in the group Goodreads Authors/Readers — Short reads for the commute. Free 25-29 July topic " REVIEWS "Should be compulsory reading to keep incorrigible chatterers quiet" - Frequent Flyer. "Could also be used to ram down their throats" - Flight A ...more "
Jul 26, 2025 12:48AM

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Quotes by Jan Hurst-Nicholson (?)

“Lust shouts. Love whispers. Only the heart knows the difference.”
― Jan Hurst-Nicholson, With the Headmaster's Approval

tags: conflict, heart, love, lust, romance

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
UK Amazon Kindle ...: Self Challenge. Jay-me's second challenge - 2012 - Our Authors	71	100	Jan 27, 2014 12:08AM
The Next Best Boo...: Author ABC Lists by Genre	67	282	Nov 24, 2014 08:33AM
The Seasonal Read...: Spring 2024: Reading Plans	16	117	Mar 09, 2024 08:35AM
UK Amazon Kindle ...: Philip Whiteland - the man behind Josiah and Archibald (which makes it sound like we're in a queue!)	3307	455	Mar 31, 2024 04:59AM
Around the World ...: South Africa	44	1164	Jan 08, 2025 05:07PM

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Jan’s Friend Comments

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message 2: by Jan

Sep 24, 2010 06:24AM

Dr wrote: "Thanks for the friendship. I too love writing and don't care for that other stuff---Math. Believe it or not, I received a PhD without ever taking, but one math course which was in my first year of..."

Hi,
Good to hear from you. I am originally from the UK but have been in SA since 1972. In the UK and here we call it maths - another word that seems to divide the US and UK. It's a public holiday here, so about to take the dogs for a walk. It's Spring and the weather is sunny, but a bit windy today.
cheers for now.
Jan

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message 1: by Dr

Sep 24, 2010 05:44AM

Thanks for the friendship. I too love writing and don't care for that other stuff---Math. Believe it or not, I received a PhD without ever taking, but one math course which was in my first year of college. I did well on it, but saw no sense in figuring out why one of these and one more made two. I already could see that. However, having confessed to my lack of understanding of math, I will tell you that lots of related math courses were taken to satisfy all of the requirements. I loved statistic, finance and adding money up in huge piles. I guess it worked for me, I passed all my courses.
Dr Robert E McGinnis Your newest friend on the block

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