When I was little, my mom was part of the Double Day book club. She had piles and piles of books lying around the house; most of them with Fabio-esque men and a scantily clad woman set in a different century. I made up stories in my head just from looking at the covers. When I as 9, I wrote stories using my best friend as a muse. They were romances...but for the 9-year-old. She was the only one who read them. When I was 14, another friend gave me a Marian Keyes novel. I fell in-love with her wit, and humor with a dark side. This was my first experience with realistic fiction. When I was 19, Nicholas Sparks forever changed my views on relationships. I learned what true love could be beautiful and difficult at the same time. I wanted it. When I was 22, Jeannette Wells made me feel more emotion from an autobiographical novel than I thought possible. I wanted to be her. When I was 30, Jamie McGuire and Colleen Hoover introduced me to the world of self-publishing. For the first time I thought: I could give this a try someday. When I was 32, my someday came. ———————————————————— Jeannine Colette is the author of the Abandon Collection – a series of stand-alone novels featuring dynamic heroines who have to abandon their reality in order to discover themselves . . . and love along the way. Each book features a new couple, exciting new city and a rose of a different color. A graduate of Wagner College and the New York Film Academy, Jeannine went on to become a Segment Producer for television shows on CBS and NBC. She left the television industry to focus on her children and pursue a full-time writing career. She lives in New York with her husband, the three tiny people she adores more than life itself, and a rescue pup named Wrigley. Want to hear about new releases and get exciting emails from me??? Sign up for my monthly newsletter! www.jeanninecolette.com/newsletter Jeannine and her family are active supporters of The March of Dimes and Strivright The Auditory-Oral School of New York.