Jade Heasley, a Montgomery native, will be introducing the Montgomery locals column starting Feb. 24.

MONTGOMERY – This week the Luminary staff introduces Jade Heasley, a Montgomery native who has accepted to be a correspondent for the Montgomery locals and nearby areas. She is not new to her surroundings, as her experiences growing up during the 80’s in small town Montgomery inspired her to write her first novel, ‘1980’s Kid.’

“I loved this time period,” said Jade, “before the internet and cell phones.” She watched the technology grow “right before her eyes.” After the Amazon Kindle version became a best seller in the humor category in the United Kingdom, Heasley went on to write other books of fiction, including ‘The Incorrigible Dreamers’ and ‘How to Rule the World.’

From there, Heasley said the publication of The Incorrigible Dreamers led to a string of interviews on both traditional broadcast and internet radio stations all over America, from Los Angles to New York.

2012 became a whirl wind of activity for Jade when she discovered her last two books were featured in an independent film titled “Death Suspects a Murder.”

She said, “The film featured Randall Wallace, a writer, director, and producer whose other works include Heaven is For Real, Braveheart, Pearl Harbor, and We Were Soldiers.”

Jade Heasley's first book ‘1980’s Kid’ is a fictional romp about growing up in the 80's.

‘Death Suspects a Murder’ was written and produced by Matthew S. Robinson and directed by Jenn Marlis.

Besides continuing her works of fiction, Heasley is also a professor at the Pennsylvania College of Technology where she teaches a required course for incoming freshman. “The First Year Experience is a required course to help first year students become successful. I have always had the desire to both teach and write, and I have been fortunate enough to do both,” said Jade who received degrees from the University of Valley Forge and Lock Haven after graduating from Montgomery High School.

Jade said she took an interest in the Montgomery Locals for sentimental reasons. “My grandmother, Dorothy Harman, began the column in May of 1986 and wrote it until December of 2004, a few weeks before she passed away. She took a lot of pride in writing it and I wanted to carry on the tradition. One of the things that my Gram and I had in common is that we both loved our hometown and shared an interest in its history.”