I live in the teeny, tiny town of Taylor, NY, (Alliteration Alert!) though my mailing address is Cincinnatus, my telephone exchange is Truxton and I pay taxes and vote in Cuyler. All of these are at least in the same rural county in the southern hills of New York State; Cortland County. There are more cattle than people here. The nearest “big” cities are Syracuse and Binghamton and they are an hour away, in different directions, and not really all that big by most standards, though they both seem humongous to me. I look out my window to see rolling, green, thickly forested hills, wildflower laden meadows and wide open blue, blue skies. My road is barely paved. The nearest neighboring place is a 700 acre dairy farm. My house is a big, century old farmhouse. I moved in here after my divorce in 2006. Just a little over a year later, the house, which I had named, SERENITY, burned. It was 99% gutted, and I lost my two dogs, Sally, an 11-year-old great Dane, and Wrinkles, my 14-year-old, blind bulldog. This was the culmination of my Dark Night of the soul, which had seemed to hit me all at once in 2006-2007. My mother died that year, after a 14 month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was only 60. The youngest of my five daughters had left home that same year, and while that’s not a tragedy at all, it felt like one to me. Then came the divorce. And finally there was the fire—it seemed my darkest night wasn’t quite finished with me after all. I had lost almost everything before that point, and as I poked through the wet ashes and soot the next day, I realized that I had now been stripped all the way to the bone. No better time to start over. (And no, I didn’t come to that realization that day—there were a few days of wallowing in pity first, particularly the day after the fire, when I hit a deer and smashed up my car, which I was practically living in!) That’s when I started to laugh. Just sat on the side of the road as the deer bounded, uninjured and carefree, out of sight, and laughed. It was just too ridiculous at that point, to do anything else! And from there, I picked myself up, and brushed myself off, and said, okay, there’s only one way to go from here. Forward. And that’s what I did. There I was at the age of harrurmphemmph, living in my one, mostly undamaged remaining room, with a dorm-sized mini-fridge, a futon, a TV, my cat (nine lives!) and a laptop. And not much else. (Though thank goodness the room that survived the fire, was a room that had its own attached bathroom!) Since then I have rebuilt my beloved home, which really has become my haven, my “Serenity.” I share it now with my fiancé, Lance, and we have accumulated quite the little family together. “Little” being a relative term. We have a pair of English Mastiffs, Dozer and Daisy, who weigh 203 pounds and 208 pounds respectively, and a little pudgy English Bulldog named Niblet, who is bigger than both of them, inside her mind. We also have the aforementioned cat, Glorificus (“Glory” for short,) who adores her canine pups and keeps them firmly in line. And we've acquired a pair of stray cats as well, a mother and son, Luna (Lulu for short) and Butters aka Buddy. Lulu showed up pregnant during a lunar eclipse, had a litter, and vanished again. We found homes for all the kittens except one. Butters. We got him fixed and kept him. A few months later, Lulu returned, again expecting. This litter was born on the "Monster Moon." Again, all the kittens were spayed and neutered and placed in homes, and this time we got Lulu to the vet in time to spay her before the cycle could repeat. Glory is not amused. She has a story of her own, my old Glory cat, having been with me before the Dark Times descended, she went through it all with me, moved with me, survived the fire, and remains with me still. She's tolerating the newcomers. Barely. My partner is an artist, a mechanic, a welder and an inventor, and the rumors are true, he is much younger than I

Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, a nomination for the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and a nomination for an “Audie Award” for best mystery audiobook. Her work has appeared on numerous bestseller lists and earned a spot on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, three Appaloosas, and two feisty, but loveable Blue Heelers. She loves hearing from readers. Contact her at books@lindacastillo.com.

CANDACE IRVIN is the daughter of a librarian and a retired US Navy chief. Candace grew up in the Philippines, Germany, and all over the United States. Her senior year of high school, she enlisted in the US Army. Following basic training, she transferred to the Navy’s ROTC program at the University of Texas-Austin. While at UT, she spent a summer in Washington, DC, as a Congressional Intern. She also worked security for the UT Police. BA in Political Science in hand, Candace was commissioned as an ensign in the US Navy and sent to Surface Warfare Officer’s School to learn to drive warships. From there, she followed her father to sea. Candace is married to her favorite soldier, a former US Army Combat Engineer. They live in the American Midwest, where the Army/Navy football game is avidly watched and argued over every year. Go Navy; Beat Army! Candace also writes gritty military thrillers under the name Candace Irving—just add the "g"!

Linda Winstead Jones is the bestselling author of more than eighty romance novels and novellas across several sub-genres. She’s easily distracted (Look! A squirrel!) and writes the stories that speak to her in the moment. Paranormal. Romantic Suspense. Twisted Fairy Tales. Cowboys. Her books are for readers who want to escape from reality for a while, who don’t mind the occasional trip into another world for a laugh, a chill, the occasional heartwarming tear. Where will we go next? More information can be found at lindawinsteadjones.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, and at www.facebook.com/LindaWinsteadJones or www.facebook.com/LindaHowardLindaJones.

Beverly confesses to having been the prototype of the rebellious teenager. By the age of five—when she tried to rewrite the ending to The Wizard of Oz because it scared her—she knew she would be a writer. Therefore, the high school regimen was obviously not for her, and childhood was just something to get through before she could make her mark on the world. On one memorable occasion, she stood up in chemistry class to inform her teacher that she did not need to understand the subject because in a few years she would be writing for a living anyway. She failed the class, of course. Then, some 20 years later, she had to face the teacher at a reunion and admit that when she had to research DNA for a recent book she still had no clue what it was about! Since words are meant to be read and not eaten, Beverly turned seriously to writing when she was 22. The stars aligned for a time—she was single and her rent was astronomically low because she looked after the elderly lady who owned the building. She’d just gotten laid off from an advertising job with a newspaper due to budget cuts and therefore had an unemployment check coming in weekly. She decided that it was now or never—and Emeralds in the Dark was born, published by Silhouette to launch the Intimate Moments line in 1983. Since then, Beverly has published 20 books with Silhouette as well as several romantic suspense and historical novels. She prefers strong heroines with hidden soft spots and a penchant for getting themselves into trouble, figuring that she has had some experience herself in that area. Though she has lived in several places in the United States, Beverly returned to her roots to live on a barrier island off the coast of New Jersey with her son and a Chihuahua named Taco, where periodically she risks running into that chemistry teacher. But these days, she is much less rebellious and tends to tuck tail and run when she encounters someone she probably ticked off 25 years ago! Beverly loves to hear from readers but admits that she is seriously negligent about actually traveling to the post office and snail-mailing her replies. She asks that anyone who would like to contact her please do so via email at Bvrlye@aol.com.

Joan moved to a sleepy little town in Arizona, situated on the Mexican border, when she was thirteen. She has 3 grown-up daughters and a grandson. When she isn't writing, she enjoys watching football, knitting, reading, gardening and attending craft shows on the town square.

The only thing Cindy had in mind when she started writing her first book was finishing it. The issue of actually selling it came much later. Only after she made that life-altering first sale did she realize that one book would never be enough. Now, over 20 books and numerous awards later, Cindy laughingly admits that she can barely remember life before...well, was there life before writing? Actually, yes there was, and still is. A professional career woman, Cindy is a trainer for the Iowa Department of Human Services, a position she states is both challenging and rewarding. "Human Services is a front-line, real-life event. Everything about the job is immediate, from serving families in crisis, to assisting staff with difficult situations, to meeting tension-fraught deadlines." Cindy's career has taught her much about the human condition, its frailties, its strengths, and its spirit. The evocative emotions that pour from the pages of her books are a reflection of some of her work experiences. Her writing celebrates life's richness and trials, offering a wide range of emotions—hope and elation, anger and indecision, laughter and, of course, love. And, according to her readers, her powerful love scenes run the gamut from steamy to tender to lusty to just plain fun. Cindy's writing has netted her spots on bestseller lists, numerous RT nominations and awards, the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence, a National Reader's Choice Award and two RITA nominations. Between writing and working full time you wouldn't think Cindy would have much time for anything else. And while she does find her work and her writing rewarding, there does have to be more. Cindy has more. Much more. She is happily married to the perfect man. Tom's a cowboy, ladies! Yes, even Iowa has its share of that saddle-straddling, Wrangler-wearing species who love their horses almost as much as they love their women. As a matter of fact, recently a whole herd of Texans gathered at the Gerard "Ranch" to treat their little ones to real horseback rides. Go figure. Cindy has a passion for pink depression glass—she always has her eye out for the special piece to add to her collection. Cindy's down time often takes the form of the classic "busman's holiday." She loves to read and most of all, she loves to read at their summer place, a cabin in the woods on Lake Kabetogama in northern Minnesota. Both Tom and Cindy enjoy gardening and have recently expanded their annual beds into a perennial garden. Cindy says she can hardly wait for spring and the promise of all that reawakening and the colorful blooms. In addition to the horses, the Gerards have two dogs, Ellie and Boomer, who pretty much get anything they want. Tom and Cindy have one son, Kyle, who, after years of keeping them in suspense, found Eileen, the perfect woman. http://us.macmillan.com/author/cindyg...

Weaver was born and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. She has a degree in English literature. After her youngest child entered school in 1989 she began writing in the hopes that she could build a career that would allow her to work from home. None of her first eight manuscripts sold, but in July 1993 her ninth, True Blue, was purchased by Silhouette Books. Generally Weaver writes two to three novels per year, taking up to five months to finish each work. The novels are most often classified as romantic suspense, and the protagonists are put into life-or-death situations in order more clearly reveal their true characters and feelings. In many of her novels, the hero is either connected to law enforcement or the military. Weaver also enjoys including animals in her stories "because they're usually excellent judges of character." Weaver was awarded a Romance Writers of America RITA Award in 1998 for Best Romantic Suspense for her novel On the Way to a Wedding.[3] She is also a recipient of the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.

Best-selling author Jenna Mills grew up surrounded by the evocative plantation ruins, haunting swamps, and timeless legends of south Louisiana. She penned her first official work of fiction at the ripe old age of six, turning to suspense three years later with JACQUIE AND THE SWAMP. Since then her stories have grown in complexity, but her love for adventurous women and dangerous men has remained constant. Jenna is a member of Romance Writers of America, Dallas Area Romance Authors, and North Louisiana Storytellers. Prior to selling her first novel, she won numerous regional and national writing contests, one of which brought her in contact with the editor who purchased her work. When not writing stories brimming with deep emotion, steamy romance and page-turning suspense, Jenna enjoys spending time with her young daughter and her husband, as well as a house full of cats, dogs, and plants. Jenna credits her grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Cloyd Allison and Mr. & Mrs. Milton Aucoin, for teaching her everything she knows about dreams that come true and love that lasts a lifetime.

New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra is the author of thirty books of women's fiction, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, and romantic suspense. Meg and Jo , a contemporary novel inspired by the classic story Little Women, received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist and was a People Magazine pick. Beth and Amy (May 25, 2021) "continues her delightful 21st-century retelling of Little Women...Kantra’s compulsively readable update will attract a whole new group of readers, as well as satisfy Alcott devotees."—Publishers Weekly Her stories have earned numerous awards including two Romance Writers of America's RITA (R) Awards, ten RITA nominations, and two National Readers' Choice Awards. Carolina Dreaming, the fifth book in her Dare Island series , won the 2017 RITA (R) Award for Best Contemporary Romance - Midlength and was named one of BookPage's Top Ten Romance Novels of 2016. Her work includes the popular Children of the Sea series and, in e-book format, The MacNeills stories. I love to connect with readers! For exclusive content and news of my latest releases, join my mailing list. Or find me on Facebook