Award-winning author Karen Rose Smith was born in Pennsylvania. Although she was an only child, she remembers the bonds of an extended family. Family is a strong theme in her books and she suspects her childhood memories are the reason. In college, Karen began writing poetry and also met her husband to be. They both began married life as teachers, but when their son was born, Karen decided to try her hand at a home-decorating business. She returned to teaching for a while but changes in her life led her to writing relationship novels. Now she writes romances as well as mysteries full time. Her first book was published in 1992; her 80th novel will be published in 2013. A winner of New Jersey's Golden Leaf Award in Short Contemporary Romance, Colorado Romance Writers Award Of Excellence for short contemporary, as well as the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter's Golden Quill for Traditional Romance, she has also been honored with Cataromance.com's award for Best Special Edition and Washington Romance Writers Career Achievement Award. Her romances have made both the USA TODAY list and the Amazon Romance and Contemporary Romance Bestseller lists. She has written for Meteor/Kismet, Kensington, Silhouette and Harlequin. Readers can contact Karen through her website, on Facebook (Karen Rose Smith Author) and on Twitter @ Karenrosesmith. They can also follow her monthly e-zine IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH which has the latest news about her books, recipes and contests.

I'm not one of those people who knew from birth she was destined to become a writer. I always loved to read and throughout my childhood I could usually be found with a book in my hands. To the disgust of my friends, I even enjoyed creative writing assignments that made them all groan. But I had other dreams besides writing. I wanted to be an actress or a teacher or a lawyer. Life took a different turn for me, though, when my mother made me take a journalism elective in high school (thanks, Mom!). I knew the first day that this was where I belonged. After I graduated from college in journalism, I took a job at the local daily newspaper and I reveled in the challenge and the diversity of it. One day I could be interviewing the latest country music star, the next day I was writing about local motorcycle gangs or interviewing an award-winning scientist. Through it all—through the natural progression of my career from reporter to editor—I wrote stories in my head. Not just any stories, either, but romances, the kind of books I have devoured since junior high school, with tales about real people going through the trials and tribulations of life until they find deep and lasting love. I had no idea how to put these people on paper, but knew I had to try—their stories were too compelling for me to ignore. I sold my first book in 1995 and now, more than 30 books later, I've come to love everything about writing, from the click of the computer keys under my fingers to the "that's-it!" feeling I get when a story is flowing. I write full-time now (well, as full-time as I can manage juggling my kids!) amid the raw beauty of the northern Utah mountains. Even though I might not have dreamed of being a writer when I was younger, now I simply can't imagine my life any other way. I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at my email address, raeannethayne@gmail.com

New York Times bestselling author Christine Rimmer has written more than one hundred contemporary romances for Harlequin Books. She has won Romantic Times BOOKreview’s Reviewer’s Choice Award for best Silhouette Special Edition. She has been nominated seven times for the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award and five times for Romantic Times Series Storyteller of the Year. A California native who first longed to be an actress, Christine earned her theater degree from California State, Sacramento and then went to New York to study acting. Later, she moved to Southern California, where she began her writing career with short stories, plays, and poems. Her poems and short stories were published in a number of small literary journals. Her plays were produced at The Back Alley and Group Theaters in Southern California and have been published by Dramatists Play Service and West Coast Plays. She now lives in Oregon with her family and two very contented cats named Tom and Ed.

Pseudonym for Chris Marie Green and Christine Cody A long time ago, in a land far, far away (Milwaukee, WI, St. Luke's Hospital), Chris Marie Green (also writing as Crystal Green) joined the world. While moving to Southern California, Kentucky, then back to California, she amused herself by writing poetry and short stories featuring the ultimate Alpha males—Superman and Indiana Jones. Later, after graduating with a B.A. in English from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Chris decided to become a professional writer. While she wrote, Chris worked as an eighth-grade teacher, but resigned in 2002 to pursue writing full time. Her critique partners, Sheri WhiteFeather and Judy Duarte are instrumental in her endeavors. Without these talented authors, writing would be a lonely road. Chris is pumped about her Vampire Babylon series for Ace, which is best described as "noir fantasy-mysteries" featuring a vamp hunter. The first five books, NIGHT RISING, MIDNIGHT REIGN, BREAK OF DAWN (which compose the first trilogy), plus A DROP OF RED and THE PATH OF RAZORS (the first two books in the second trilogy) have already been released. The sixth, DEEP IN THE WOODS, will be on shelves on March 2, 2010. A Vampire Babylon-related novella was released in an anthology entitled FIRST BLOOD. (Note: The Vampire Babylon series uses trilogy arcs to tell one basic story, much like the way JK Rowling used seven books that didn’t solve every plot thread book-by-book to tell Harry Potter’s story. While each individual novel focuses on a central mystery that’s solved by the end, the three books together build character and mythology arcs/mysteries until everything culminates in the third book. Each trilogy repeats this pattern.) Chris is also writes Silhouette Special Editions ("home and hearth" tales of redemption and community) and Harlequin Blazes (steamy fantasies), and whenever she can, she travels, including backpacking trips in Europe and road trips in America . She also enjoys yoga, hiking, and way too much movie-watching. For any press inquiries, please contact Chris’ agent Pamela Harty at http://www.knightagency.net/contact/.

A four time National Readers Choice award finalist, Teresa Southwick is the author of more than 65 romance novels. She's also been a finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious Rita Award and a winner of Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine's Reviewer's Choice award for best Silhouette Romance. Teresa grew up in Southern California, one of six children—four of them boys. That gave her a lot of experience with the male point of view and has served her well in her writing career. Living in Las Vegas which she considers just a little east of her childhood stomping grounds, she loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at www.teresasouthwick.com.