She has authored sixteen novels spanning a variety of genres, including historical fiction, thrillers, and LGBTQ+ romance, and a biography of softball player and bowler Dot Wilkinson.

I could rescue the girl and live happily ever after.”[3] In 1982, she graduated cum laude from Middlebury College with a bachelor's degree in history and a minor in psychology.

In 1989, Governor Mario Cuomo tapped her to become spokesperson for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, then the third-largest prison system in the country.

[8] In addition to issuing second editions of her first five novels, Phoenix Rising Press became publisher of record for her eleven subsequent works of fiction.

As described in The Lesbian Review, Jay “is in Albany to interview the Governor of New York when she turns on the TV in her hotel room and sees a face she’s been thinking about for five years.” Kate “is at the state capitol building, covering the wreckage after an explosion and helping as many survivors as she can.” The two women reconnect, resulting in a “page turner” that is “a lot of fun to read.”[9] In reviewing Chain Reactions, a Writer’s Digest honorable mention for genre fiction,[10] Lambda Literary advised “readers who enjoy a blend of contemporary and historical fiction” to pick up the book, as it is “fascinating, compelling, and well-researched, giving a glimpse into what will be for many a little-known contribution women made to the war effort in WWII.”[11] Ames also has won a Goldie Award and other recognition for her humorous novel Great Bones, published in 2018, and for other comedic work.