Authors
Ann Aguirre
In her life, Ann has been a clown, a clerk, a savior of stray kittens, and a voice actress, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband and two adorable children who sometimes do as they are told.
Michele Bardsley
http://www.michelebardsley.com
Michele Bardsley is multi-published in several genres, but she is best known for her paranormal series set in the fictional town of Broken Heart, Oklahoma. She invites readers to check out the adventures of her vampire PTA parents in I’m The Vampire, That’s Why (September 2006), Don’t Talk Back To Your Vampire (July 2007), Because Your Vampire Said So (Spring 2008), and Wait Until Your Vampire Gets Home (Fall 2008).
Over the years, her work has earned awards and recognition from many organizations and publications—including OWFI’s Trophy Award for Best Book of Fiction and the Grand Prize in the 72nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition. Michele lives in Tulsa with her family.
Marie Bostwick
Marie Bostwick Skinner was born in Eugene, Oregon and raised in the Northwest. She vividly remembers the day she got her very own library card. “I was about three years old and had just learned to write my first and last name, a skill which qualified me to become a library patron. I nagged my poor mother until she drove me downtown to get my card so I could check out my first book ‘Hop On Pop’ by Dr. Seuss.”
It was the beginning of a lifetime love affair with the written word. As a girl, Marie wrote love stories featuring lots of handsome princes in fast cars and extensive descriptions of the heroine’s wardrobe. In high school she began writing short stories and, “lots of sad, self-pitying, teenage poetry.”
Marie was lucky enough to meet the love of her life, Brad at a young age. They’ve been married for nearly twenty-nine years. However, between marriage, motherhood, finishing her college education, and moving a score of times for her husband’s career, there wasn’t much time left for writing. Life was happy just the same. Marie enjoyed raising her three sons, working in a variety paid and volunteer jobs, and making time for hobbies like quilting, cooking, and reading . . . always reading.
In 1994, Marie wandered into a writer’s workshop and her old romance with words was rekindled. At the instructor’s urging, she began writing again. She completed one short story a month for more than three years though she never submitted them, feeling her work was not yet ready for publication. Marie plugged away; raising her sons, doing volunteer work, taking seminary courses, working in professional ministry, and month by month teaching herself to write. Finally one of her short stories refused to stay short. It grew into Marie’s first novel, FIELDS OF GOLD, published by Kensington in September of 2005.
Today, Marie lives and writes in Connecticut with her husband, Brad, and their sons.
Jillian Burns
Jillian Burns lives in Texas with her husband of twenty years and their three active kids. She likes to think her emotional nature—sometimes referred to as moodiness by those closest to her—has found the perfect outlet in writing stories filled with passion and romance. She spent her youth with her nose in a book, immersed in the worlds of Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennett, and believes romance novels have the power to change lives with their message of eternal love and hope. Her first Harlequin Blaze, LET IT RIDE, was released May 2009, and the sequel, SEDUCE AND RESCUE, is in stores October 1! She will have 3 more Blazes out in 2011.
Monica Burns
A multi-published author of erotic romance, Monica Burns penned her first short romance story at the age of nine when she selected the pseudonym she uses today. From the days when she hid her stories from her sisters to her first completed full-length manuscript, she always believed in her dream despite rejections and setbacks. A workaholic wife and mother, Monica believes it’s possible for the good guy to win if they work hard enough.
Monica is a survivor, and it’s a topic she has become well versed in. A survivor of date rape at the age of 19, writing erotic romance has aided her in the lifelong process of healing. She first shared her story on her agent’s blog in September 2007, and her story is documented in the article Romance and Healing found on her website.
Monica has suffered from bipolar disorder since childhood, but was not diagnosed until much later in life. The condition according to the National Institute of Mental Health affects 5.7 million American adults or about 2.6% of the population (18 years and older). Her most recent tale of survival is her diagnosis of the genetic disorder Long QT syndrome and subsequent heart defibrillator implant.
Her determination to overcome these challenging life experiences is a reflection of her belief that there truly are happy ever afters. Writing romance is a therapeutic process as it allows Monica to explore the themes of hope, trust and love in her work. She believes romance books empower women to believe in themselves and that their only limitations are the ones they set for themselves. Monica made her first sale in 2004. She is a member of Romance Writers of America (RWA) and was a 2005 RWA Golden Heart Finalist, as well as winner of the 2009 EPPIE for Best erotic historical romance. She has consistently earned top reviews from RT BOOKreviews and other reviewers. Monica holds a bachelors of science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Mass Communications.
Dakota Cassidy
Dakota Cassidy lives for a good laugh in life and in her writing. In fact, she almost loves a good giggle as much as she loves hair products and that’s saying something.
Her goals in life are simple, (like really simple): banish the color yellow forever, create world peace via hot rollers and Aqua Net; and finally, nab every tiara in the land by competing in the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss World pageants, then sweeping them in a stunning trifecta of much duct tape and Vaseline usage, all in just under one week. Oh, and write really fun books!
Dakota lives in Texas with her two sons, her mother, more cats and dogs than the local animal shelter and has a boyfriend who puts the heroes in her books to shame.
Connie Cox
Connie Cox teaches novel writing at her local community college. Her debut novel TAKING FLIGHT, published by Avalon Romance, is a 2007 Golden Heart finalist and a 2008 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice finalist in Best Small Press Romance. TAKING FLIGHT may be ordered from Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble or ask your local librarian to order a copy. You can find Connie on Twitter or Facebook or on her website.
Nikki Duncan
Heart stopping puppy chases, childhood melodrama and the aborted hangings of innocent toys are all in a day’s work for Nikki Duncan. This athletic equestrian turned reluctant homemaker turned daring author, is drawn to the siren song of a fresh storyline.
Nikki plots murder and mayhem over breakfast, scandalous exposes at lunch and the sensual turn of phrase after dinner. Nevertheless, it is the pleasurable excitement and anticipation of unraveling her character’s motivation that drives her to write long past the witching hour.
The only anxiety and apprehension haunting this author comes from pondering the mysterious outcome of her latest twist.
Louisa Edwards
Louisa Edwards was born in Austin, but grew up in Virginia, where she started reading romance around the age of eleven. She graduated with honors from Bryn Mawr College and landed her first job in publishing as an Editorial Assistant at Berkley and built her own list of authors, earning a promotion to Assistant Editor.
Then real life romance ensued: Louisa married a journalist and moved to a small town in Ohio where she critiqued restaurants for the local paper and began writing the Recipe for Love novels, a series of contemporary romances with a strong culinary theme. Her debut novel, CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, was released by St. Martin’s Press in September 2009 to rave reviews. The second novel in the series, ON THE STEAMY SIDE came out in March 2010, followed by JUST ONE TASTE in September 2010. The series will continue with TOO HOT TO TOUCH (on sale August 2, 2011), SOME LIKE IT HOT (November 29, 2011), and HOT UNDER PRESSURE (April 2012), a trilogy about a team of talented chefs in a high-stakes culinary competition.
Louisa recently moved back to Austin with her husband. They and their two dogs are already completely in love with it!
Winnie Griggs
Louisa Edwards was born in Austin, but grew up in Virginia, where she started reading romance around the age of eleven. She graduated with honors from Bryn Mawr College and landed her first job in publishing as an Editorial Assistant at Berkley and built her own list of authors, earning a promotion to Assistant Editor.
Then real life romance ensued: Louisa married a journalist and moved to a small town in Ohio where she critiqued restaurants for the local paper and began writing the Recipe for Love novels, a series of contemporary romances with a strong culinary theme. Her debut novel, CAN’T STAND THE HEAT, was released by St. Martin’s Press in September 2009 to rave reviews. The second novel in the series, ON THE STEAMY SIDE came out in March 2010, followed by JUST ONE TASTE in September 2010. The series will continue with TOO HOT TO TOUCH (on sale August 2, 2011), SOME LIKE IT HOT (November 29, 2011), and HOT UNDER PRESSURE (April 2012), a trilogy about a team of talented chefs in a high-stakes culinary competition.
Louisa recently moved back to Austin with her husband. They and their two dogs are already completely in love with it!
Jade Lee
A USA Today Bestseller, JADE LEE has been scripting love stories since she first picked up a set of paper dolls. Ball gowns and rakish lords caught her attention early (thank you Georgette Heyer), and her fascination with the Regency began. And as a Taurus, she lives to pit a headstrong woman against a tortured hero just to watch them butt heads on the way to true love. Flesh wounds are rare, but the healing and laughter are real.
Now an author of more than 30 romance novels, she finally gets to set these couples in the best girl-heaven of all: a Bridal Salon! This way she gets to live out all her wedding fantasies, one by one. (Let’s be honest, what girl has only one idea for her dream wedding?)
And don’t forget Jade’s other name, KATHY LYONS. That’s Jade’s lighter, contemporary side. She writes for Harlequin Blaze merging hawt sex and funny relationships into really great reads.
Candace Havens
Candace “Candy” Havens is a best selling and award-winning author. Her novels include “Charmed & Dangerous”, “Charmed & Ready”, “Charmed & Deadly”, “Like A Charm” and “The Demon King and I”. She is known for writing strong female characters, who save the world, but aren’t exactly perfect. She is a two-time RITA, Write Touch Reader and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also the winner of the Barbara Wilson award.
Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood from George Clooney and Orlando Bloom to Nicole Kidman and Kate Beckinsale. You can hear Candy weekly on 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas Fort Worth Area.
Her popular online Writer’s Workshop has more than 1000 students and provides free classes to professional and aspiring writers.
Missy Jane
http://www.authormissyjane.com
Ms. Missy Jane is the alter ego of a married mother of four who was born and raised in Texas. A few years ago she finished reading a book by Mercedes Lackey and thought “Now, what if…” and a monster was created. Missy now spends most of her time lost in worlds of her own making, alternately loving and hating such creatures as vampires, shape-shifters and gargoyles (to name a few). When not writing, she spends her time reading, taking photos of her beautiful daughters and training her husband to believe she’s always right. She lives near Houston and doesn’t understand why everyone hasn’t moved to the South.
Mari Mancusi
http://www.mariannemancusi.com
Mari Mancusi is a multiple Emmy award-winning television producer and author of romance novels for adults and teens. Best known for her Blood Coven Vampire teen series and her work with Dorchester’s Shomi line, her books have twice been awarded “Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers” by the American Library Association. When not writing about creatures of the night, Mari enjoys traveling, cooking, goth clubbing, watching horror movies, and her favorite guilty pleasure–videogames. A graduate of Boston University, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband Jacob. You can learn more about Mari at her website
Jill Monroe
http://www.jillmonroebooks.com
Jill Monroe’s grandparents firmly believed their grandkids should experience the satisfaction of hard work…by harvesting potatoes in 100-degree weather. In fact, Jill’s grandma felt it was her personal duty to pass along the fading arts of canning, sewing and keeping house to her only granddaughter. While Jill didn’t “take to” canning or sewing OR, let’s face it, cleaning, she did pick up her grandparents’ other favorite pastime — reading.
After various careers, Jill happily settles behind the computer and writes the kind of stories she hopes people will enjoy reading.
Grandma is happy to report not all her time was wasted; Jill can be found every October in the fabric store helping little ones decide which costume they want sewn for Halloween. The canning is still a problem. Jill’s next book, HITTING THE MARK, will hit the stands in February as a Harlequin Blaze.
Kristen Painter
http://www.kristenpainter.com/
When the characters in Kristen Painter’s head started to take over, she decided to exorcise them onto paper and share them with the world. She writes paranormal romance for Samhain Publishing and has the first of three books in her gothic fantasy vampire series, Blood Rights, coming from Orbit in fall 2011.
She has also been published in non-fiction, poetry and short stories. The former college English teacher can often be found online at Romance Divas, the award-winning writers’ forum she co-founded. She’s represented by Elaine Spencer of The Knight Agency.
Vicki Pettersson
http://www.vickipettersson.com/
Vicki Pettersson was born and raised in Las Vegas. A post-college stint in public relations convinced her that working on assignment wasn’t for her, so she did what any self-respecting Vegas girl would do: She became a showgirl by night, and a closet novelist by day. A decade later she became an “instant” bestseller with the release of the first book in her dark fantasy series, The Scent of Shadows. Still residing in Sin City, where a backyard view of the Strip regularly inspires her to set down her martini and head back to her computer, she is currently hard at work on the next installment in the Signs of the Zodiac series.
Jane Porter
Jane Porter is still a small town girl at heart. Now an award-winning novelist with nearly 3 million books in print, Jane never feels too far away from her roots in central California’s golden foothills, oak trees, and miles of farmland. It was one year in Europe when she was thirteen that opened a huge and wonderful world of different cultures and customs to Jane, who became especially passionate about Italy.
After that incredible year the travel bug bit, and bit hard. She spent much of her high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. And now, after a Bachelors degree from UCLA, a stint in sales and marketing, and several wonderful years in the teaching trenches of junior high school, Jane is a full-time fiction writer, and her books are famously set in all manners of exotic places.
Her first published novel, The Italian Groom, sold to Harlequin Presents in 2000. Since then, Jane has been prolific, penning more than 20 novels. She was a finalist for the prestigious RITA award from Romance Writers of America in both 2002 and 2003. Her most recent work, The Frog Prince, marks a new avenue for Jane’s career. Taking a more literary turn than her previous work, Jane stayed close to home, using the backdrop of exciting San Francisco to look at the complex relationships between mothers, daughters and the men they love.
Jane lives in rugged Seattle with her two young sons. She is currently working on her second chick lit romance, set in Hawaii.
Melissa Bourbon
Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, is the marketing director with Entangled Publishing. She is the founder of Books on the House, the co-founder of The Naked Hero and The Writer’s Guide to ePulblishing, and is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL, two indie published romantic suspense novels, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox.
Gena Showalter
Gena Showalter is an avid romance reader who decided to create her own stories, and is now the author of sexy paranormal romances, romantic contemporaries, and a darkly seductive alien huntress series. Her mix of humor, danger, and wickedly hot sex provide wildly sensual page-turners sure to enthrall.
Roxanne St. Claire
http://www.roxannestclaire.com
Roxanne St. Claire is a bestselling, RITA-award winning author of twenty-five novels of suspense and romance. She currently writes a romantic suspense series for Grand Central Publishing, featuring a rogue family of street smart crime fighters known as the Guardian Angelinos. The first book in that series, EDGE OF SIGHT, is available now, with two more scheduled in early 2011. Prior to this, she wrote a popular romantic suspense series called “The Bullet Catchers” that features the adventures of an elite cadre of bodyguards and security professionals, published by Simon & Schuster’s Pocket Books. In addition to being a four-time RITA nominee, her books have won the National Reader’s Choice Award for best romantic suspense for two consecutive years, as well as the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, the Maggie, Booksellers Best, Book Buyers Best, several Awards of Excellence, the Aspen Gold and multiple Gayle Wilson Awards of Excellence.
J.D. Tyler
J.D. Tyle is an award-winning, multi-published author who writes for New American Library under three pseudonyms. Whether this is due to an overdose of ambition or a multiple personality affliction, she’ll never tell.
J.D. writes dark, sexy paranormal romance and has a huge thing for shifters, vampires, the Fae, and just about everything else that goes bump and grind in the night. She can’t get enough of those dangerous supernatural heroes, and the fun of creating her own was just too much temptation to resist… so she didn’t. J.D. doesn’t do self-denial.
When she isn’t writing, J.D.’s idea of a good time certainly isn’t cleaning house (sniff), bungee jumping (not in this lifetime, or the next), or camping (her idea of “roughing it” is a slow bellboy). She enjoys reading, being pampered like the diva she is, and spending time with her awesome family. She lives in Texas with her husband and two teenagers.
Jaye Wells
After several years as a magazine editor and freelance writer, Jaye Wells finally decided to leave the facts behind and make up her own reality. Her overactive imagination and life-long fascination with the arcane and freakish blended nicely with this new career path. Her Sabina Kane urban fantasy series is a blend of dark themes, grave stakes and wicked humor. Jaye lives in Texas with her saintly husband and devilish son.
Lori Wilde
Lori Wilde is the author of over forty-five books for three major New York publishers. Recently, she received a two-book contract from Warner Books based solely on a 25 word ‘high concept’ pitch. When the sale—along with the pitch—was announced on Publisher’s Marketplace, she was approached by eight film production companies interested in optioning her completed novel for a movie. She has been nominated for Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA award and is a four time nominee of the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award.
Lauren Willig
A native of New York City, Lauren Willig has been writing romances ever since she got her hands on her first romance novel at the age of six. Three years later, she sent her first novel off to a publishing house—all three hundred hand-written pages. They sent it back. Undaunted, Lauren has continued to generate large piles of paper and walk in front of taxis while thinking about plot ideas.
After thirteen years at an all girls school (explains the romance novels, doesn’t it?), Lauren set off for Yale and co-education, where she read lots of Shakespeare, wrote sonnet sequences when she was supposed to be doing her science requirement, and lived in a Gothic fortress complete with leaded windows and gargoyles. After college, she decided she really hadn’t had enough school yet, and headed off to that crimson place in Cambridge, Massachusetts for a degree in English history. Like her modern heroine, she spent a year doing dissertation research in London, tramping back and forth between the British Library and the Public Records Office, reading lots of British chick lit, and eating far too many Sainsbury’s frozen dinners.
By a strange quirk of fate, Lauren signed her first book contract during her first month of law school. She finished writing “Pink Carnation” during her 1L year, scribbled “Black Tulip” her 2L year, and struggled through “Emerald Ring” as a weary and jaded 3L. After three years of taking useful and practical classes like “Law in Ancient Athens” and “The Globalization of the Modern Legal Consciousness”, Lauren received her J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. For a year and a half, she practiced as a litigation associate at a large New York law firm. But having attained the lofty heights of second year associate, she decided that book deadlines and doc review didn’t mix and departed the law for a new adventure in full time writerdom.
Authors confirmed for 2011 Readers & ‘ritas:
Ann Aguirre
Michele Bardsley
Marie Bostwick
Jillian Burns
Monica Burns
Dakota Cassidy
Nikki Duncan
Louisa Edwards
Jade Lee
Candace Havens
Missy Jane
Marianne Mancusi
Jill Monroe
Kristen Painter
Vicki Pettersson
Jane Porter
Tara Taylor Quinn
Misa Ramirez / Melissa Bourbon
Gena Showalter
Roxanne St. Claire
Jeanne C. Stein
J.D. Tyler.
Jaye Wells
Lori Wilde
Lauren Willig
C.L. Wilson
