She was a beautiful young princess, born of mixed parentage, half-Hawaiian, half-English. Her lithe and sultry figure was in wild contrast to her placid, childlike face...a combination that reflected the best of two races and captivated all who saw her. — Although she was betrothed to a handsome young chieftain, there were others who wanted her...jealous native men, rough and randy seamen, even lecherous missionaries supposedly at work saving souls. Buy Liliha saw none of this. Her thoughts, even while roaming naked in the cool forest, or swimming in the warm surf, were as delicate, innocent, and natural as her island paradise. Could her primitive world survive this onslaught of foreign ideas and alien cultures? And what of love—could it endure against such odds, against men who lusted for her inheritance, her body, her soul? Death and treachery would be visited upon her, every hope and dream cruelly dashed to pieces. One man alone could save her, a man named David. If only she would find out in time, if only she'd let him capture her pagan heart...
Author
Patricia Anne Klein Ernst Brisco Matthews aka Patricia Ernst, P.A. Brisco, Patty Brisco, Pat A. Brisco, Pat Brisco, Patricia Matthews, Laura Wylie, Denise Matthews Patricia Anne Klein Ernst was born on 1 July 1927 in San Fernando, California, USA, the daughter of Gladys Gable and Roy Oliver Ernst. Her mother enrolled her in the famous Meglin Kiddies school, but she recorded only two of her songs professionally for one demo tape. She studied at California State University, Los Angeles, were she worked as secretary to the General Manager of Associated Students by the California State College. In 21 December 1946, she married Marvin Owen Brisco and moved to Arizona, they had two sons: Michael Arvie and David Roy. By 1961, the marriage had ended in divorce. Focused on her writing career, she returned to California, where she met the writer Clayton Matthews in a local writers' group. After Matthews divorced his first wife, he and Patricia married in 3 November 1972 and lived near San Diego. She started to write poetry, juvenile books, a play, fantasy and mystery short stories, which she signed under different names: Patricia Ernst, P.A. Brisco and Pat A. Brisco. Using the names Patty Brisco and Pat Brisco, she wrote gothic novels. When the market for gothic novels softened, at the suggestion of the Clayton's agent, Jay Garon, she began to write romance novels under her second married name, Patricia Matthews in 1976. She become a popular writer, called "American's First Lady of Historical Romance". She and her husband also collaborated on several romance and suspense novels using the pseudonyms Laura Wylie and Laurie Wylie. She and her husband wrote five Casey Farrell mystery novels together, and she wrote three on her own, the Thumbprint Mysteries, set in the American South, westat the fourth- sixth- and eighth-grade reading levels, yet offer characters, situations, and concerns appropriate for adult readers. With Denise Hrivnak, she also wrote under the pseudonym Denise Matthews. Her husband Clayton died in 25 March 2004. Patricia Anne Brisco Matthews died at 5:30 a.m. 7 December 2006 in the familiar house of Brisco in Arizona.
