In 1994, Brenda Jackson’s first novel, Tonight and Forever, was released. Since then she has had more than 100 novels and novellas published (the first African-American author to accomplish such a feat) and has over 3 million books in print. A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Brenda is the first African-American author to have a book published by Harlequin Desire and the first African-American romance author to make the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists within the series romance genre. In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award—one of the highest literary awards a romance author can receive. In 2013, she was recognized by the mayor and the city of Jacksonville as being a Trailblazer in the literary field. In 2010, she collaborated with Five Alive Films to turn her Truly Everlasting title into a feature film. Brenda’s 2011 novel A Silken Thread is scheduled to be filmed with Debbie Allen attached as director in 2015. Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.

National bestselling author Carmen Green was born in Buffalo, New York, and had plans to study law before becoming a published author. While raising her three children, she wrote her first book on legal pads and transcribed it onto a computer on weekends before selling her first novel in 1993. Since that time she has sold more than twenty-six novels and novellas, and is proud that one of her books was made into a TV movie in 2001—where she had a cameo role. In addition to writing full-time, Carmen is a mom of four and a full-time student completing her masters degree in creative writing. She teaches writing at a local community school one evening a week and she’s a founding member of the Femme Fantastik Tour, a group that tours military bases promoting their literary works throughout the United States and Europe. In her spare time Carmen likes live music concerts, gardening, vacations in quiet tropical places and long cruises that don’t require her to do anything but read, sleep and eat.