Eileen Wilks’ first book, a Silhouette Desire published in 1996, hit the USA Today Bestseller List and was nominated for Romantic Times' Best First Short Contemporary award. Since then, her books have appeared consistently on national bestseller lists. With thirty two books in print and novellas in nine anthologies, she has been a finalist in the prestigious Rita Awards three times, as well as receiving several nominations from Romantic Times, including one for Career Achievement in Series Romantic Suspense. Each book in her World of the Lupi series gains a larger audience. It was originally sold in the Romance section of bookstores, but more and more you will be able to find copies cross-shelved under Sci-Fi and Fantasy as the popularity of the series grows! Eileen has lived in the West Texas town of Midland, TX for over 30 years—three years as a young teen, and the remaining years since she moved back here as an adult. When she first started writing over 10 years ago, it hit her like the first drink for an alcoholic . . . or the first kiss for Romeo and Juliet. She came to writing romance in a roundabout way. Having read and loved science fiction for years, that’s where she first tried her hand when the writing bug bit. Somehow her stories always ended up having a strong romantic subplot, but she hadn’t read a romance since the early 80’s and didn’t think “those little books” were her kind of stories. But when a friend in her critique group began working on a romance novel, Wilks decided she needed to give the genre another try. She asked her friend to recommend some titles—and quicker than you can say “Jayne Ann Krentz,” she fell in love. The genre had been busy growing up while she wasn’t watching. These days, with romances comprising over 50% of the mass market books published in the U.S., there are romances to appeal to almost every taste—historicals, paranormals and contemporaries that range from romantic suspense to romantic comedy, from inspirational to sizzling. Eileen covered a lot of territory before coming home to Midland, having lived in Canada and Venezuela as well as twelve U.S. cities in five states. Profile taken from the author's site with her permission.

Barbara Schroeder was born on 28 October 1946 in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA. She worked as nurse, before she married William P. Boswell, a attorney, and they had three daughters. She has been a longtime romance novel fan, becoming hooked on the romances by Harlequin back in the mid-‘70s when she was home with her three small daughters. When the youngest reached school age in 1983, she wanted something to do with her extra time. She thought about going back to nursing, but didn't care to deal with hospital shifts. She'd often made up stories in her head and/or continued the stories that she'd read, so it seemed like a fun idea to try to write a story of her own. It took a lot more effort and organization than the loosely strung-together scenes she'd run through her mind, but she was right about the fun part! She enjoyed the whole process and wrote a story that she knew she would enjoy reading. She sent it off and was thrilled when it was accepted! It was even more exciting to see her name on the book cover. Some 50-plus books later, it's still a thrill to see her name on the book and it's still fun to make up stories—at least most of the time! Barbara gets her ideas from everywhere but especially from reading, which she loves to do. Sometimes, just a sentence in a newspaper or a magazine will spark an idea to develop into a romance. Other times, she'll be inspired by another romance novel and she will try to put her own spin on a favorite old plot. Barbara believes that we all have our preferences—she's always been partial to the "secret baby" story line. That, plus the "marriage of convenience" and class or family conflicts are some of her particular favorites. Her three daughters are all grown up now, and she and her husband are the proud grandparents of a beautiful little grandson. They also have three cats who seem to think that they are the rulers of their house. They are terribly spoiled, and they just might be right.

BARBARA MCCAULEY is the author of over 30 best-selling romance novels, including "Blackhawk's Sweet Revenge," the first volume of her popular SECRETS! series for Silhouette. Her work has been nominated eight times by the Romance Writers of America ® for Best Short Contemporary in the prestigious RITA contest. She has also received numerous "Top Picks" from Romantic Times magazine, plus several Best Short Desire and "W.I.S.H." awards for her hunky heroes, and two Career Achievement Awards. All of her books have appeared on the Walden Romance Best Seller lists. A native of Southern California, Ms. McCauley enjoys spending time with her husband and two children and working in her garden when she can manage to break away from her computer. "I love to cook," says Barbara, "but when I'm on a tight deadline, quick recipes and take-out are essential." The youngest of five children growing up, she discovered early the peaceful satisfaction of daydreams and reading a good book. She remains an avid reader today, indulging her love of romance whenever possible.