Maybe that makes me more a bibliophile than a bookaholic. Or maybe both terms apply to me equally.
I was born and grew up in New Jersey. Besides books, I also loved school. You could generally find me finishing my work quickly so I could...what else? Read, of course. I always had a book with me.
In high school, I was my class valedictorian. And also voted Class Bookworm. (You're surprised, right?)
Attended Douglass College - Rutgers University, where I got a BA in Psychology. (Very helpful for creating characters, believe me.) I also studied Early Childhood and Elementary Education, and went on to teach elementary school for 10 years in New Jersey.
Then life moved me. I lived for one year in West Virginia. Then came to Erie, PA, where I still live and where many of my books are set. I love Erie. The winters can be long, cold and snowy (in other words, perfect for staying at home, reading and writing) but the summers here are gorgeous! Well worth the price we pay in the winter.
When I came to Erie, getting a teacher's certificate seemed like a monumental task. I taught kindergarten for one year in a private school (God bless ALL kindergarten teachers -- it's the harder grade level I ever taught), and the next year, I homeschooled my own son for first grade.
And I wanted to trade him for 15 kids who belonged to other people. (God bless people who can homeschool successfully, because it so didn't work for us!) In an effort to regain my sanity, I turned to writing. I started by dabbling in fanfiction, and I wrote like a woman possessed. (I did, after all, hear voices in my head.) I learned a lot about craft from some excellent fanfiction writers, and then decided that I wanted to do this "for real." I enrolled in an online course, joined Pennwriters and Romance Writers of America, wrote my first novel (which had serious failings) in about 3 months, and set my course looking forward.
The boy who drove me toward insanity when I homeschooled him for first grade is now grown. I've sold 7 books to Harlequin Superromance. I've made a lot of wonderful new friends and learned many interesting things during my time as a writer. In fact, the always-something-new-to-learn aspect is one of the things I love the most about being a writer.
I've been a finalist and winner of many prestigious awards, including RWA's Golden Heart contest (for unpublished writers) and the RITA award. I've won the National Readers' Choice Award, the More than Magic contest, along with the RIO (Reviewers International Organization) Dorothy Parker Award for Best Debut Novel. Three of my books have been named Top Picks and nominated for the Superromance of the Year by Romantic Times Bookclub Magazine. I've also been a Waldenbooks Bestseller.
Readers and reviewers alike often tell me that I make them laugh and cry while reading my books.
There's something rewarding about sitting on this side of the books, too. Hoping that I'm giving readers hours of pleasure like authors have for me.
Covers Copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009 & 2010 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher.
The excerpt published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For more romance information surf to: http://www.eHarlequin.com
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher.
The excerpt published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For more romance information surf to: http://www.eHarlequin.com
