Also wrote five category romances under the penname Shannon Anderson ::From The Author's Website:: HOW IT ALL BEGAN I started writing my first romance novel in secret. I was working a temp job in an insurance office in Manhattan at the time, and the office manager had made it clear that even if there was nothing to do, I still had to look busy—never one of my big talents. I felt bad about the wasted time, though, and I needed something to round out my other chosen career, which was singing. Yeah, that's right. Most artists choose a more practical Plan B to back up their improbable Plan A. Me? No way. "Long Shot" is my middle name. So I sneakily set up a Document 1 and a Document 2 with a spreadsheet on it. If my Boss du Jour walked by I could quick-like-a-bunny switch screens, and whenever the coast was clear, I went back to my story. Not that I was slacking, mind you. If there was work to be done, I did it. The sneakiness felt familiar, though, because I've been teased about reading romances since I was a kid. I think the day I finally grew up was the day I stopped trying to cover up what I was reading on the bus, train or subway. Let people think whatever they like. It wasn't until I moved to Italy (details of that Long Shot provided later on) that I got serious about writing, though. I found myself with many long, quiet days alone with nothing to do, so I slogged my way bravely to the end of the manuscript and sent it out. Everybody rejected it-except for Kensington. I wrote for them for a few years, and then made a bid for an erotic novella for the new Brava imprint, and oh joy, they accepted it. Then I wrote BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. And so on, and so forth. That's how I started. I can't think of anything I'd rather do. I never knew it would be so scary, and so hard . . . all that solitude and silence, a blank computer screen, and no one to blame. But still. It's worth it. It's great.

USA Today bestseller and award winning author of the Cupcake Club series and the Blueberry Cove series, DONNA KAUFFMAN has been gratified to see her books get rave reviews in venues ranging from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal to Entertainment Weekly and Cosmopolitan. She lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains in southwestern Virginia, where she is happily working on the next book in her brand new Blue Hollow Falls series, set right in her mountain home area. When she's not writing, she can be found recapping the popular tv show NCIS for USA Today, or escaping into her garden to play in the dirt. Donna also works as a volunteer wildlife transporter for two local sanctuaries, giving orphaned and injured wildlife a second chance at survival. You can catch up on all of her adventures via her author page on Facebook, or on Twitter, or Instagram @writerchick. Donna loves to hear from readers! You can contact her through her website at www.donnakauffman.com. Donna Kauffman passed away on April 9, 2020 of pancreatic cancer.

I live on Vancouver Island in the moody, green, and rain-washed Pacific Northwest. So when I'm seriously story challenged (too often!) I often walk the beach and commune with the stunning and multi-talented Mother Nature. (Make that beg for inspiration!) If that doesn’t work, a few minutes thinking about the quirks and foibles of human nature usually does the trick. I dislike cooking. I dislike nosy people. I dislike too many rainy days in a row. I dislike snakes. And the only word I hate is hate. I love reading, writing, my sons, my sister, my twin granddaughters, my Rhodesian Ridgeback, Boon—and most of all my first and last husband, Tim. You can follow me on Twitter, if that's something you tend to do. @EC_Sheedy I also mess around on Tumblr. That's here: http://ecsheedy.tumblr.com/