Kathleen Givens was born in New York City, but spent her early years living in the Northeast and Georgia before landing in Southern California at the age of ten. As a result, she is fluent in Valley Girl, Steel Magnolia, and Manhattanite. From an early age, Kathleen was entranced by the history, legends and sagas of the people who mixed together to form Scotland, Ireland, England and later the United States. She likes to weave elements of their myths and legends into her work, to mix fictional and factual characters, and set them against turbulent backdrops of war and social and political upheavals. And then add a love story, of course. Kathleen made her writing debut at the age of ten with a rewrite of Little Women, in which Jo marries Laurie and no one dies. It is not in print. In high school she and a friend wrote a dreadful 250-page play about an English rock group. Surprisingly, it is not in print either. Her official writing career began in 1999 with the acclaimed Scottish historicals, Kilgannon and The Wild Rose of Kilgannon, the epic love story of an English woman who falls in love with a rugged Highlander. The series left her readers thirsting for more stories of the glittering streets of London and the misty Scottish Highlands. In 2002, Givens launched her Torridon series. The Legend introduced the MacCurrie brothers, identical twins, whose birth and lives have been predicted by the Brahan Seer. The Legend tells the story of James MacCurrie and Ellen Graham, cousin to Bonnie Dundee, and is set in the late 17th century, when William of Orange has usurped King James, and rebellion is in the air. The Destiny continued the adventures of the brothers who are fated to help determine the future of the thrones of England and Scotland, and tells the story of Eileen Ronley, granddaughter of Charles II. The Destiny won the coveted Romance Writers of America's RITA Award for Best Long Historical of 2003. Her latest book, On a Highland Shore, which was published in July, 2006, launched a new series that will follow three siblings and their descendants for 500 years. Set in turbulent 13th century Scotland, it tells the story of Margaret MacDonald, the oldest of the siblings the series will follow, and Gannon MacMagnus, the founder of the MacGannon clan we met in the Kilgannon saga. It has Vikings, invasions, and a war. What better backdrop for a love story? Kathleen loves to travel, read, and study history, which makes writing historical fiction a perfect career. While she has traveled extensively, she's yet to find anywhere she could love more than California, where she and her husband live in a tragically flawed house with the neurotic and dictatorial cat formerly known as Miss Lily. Kathleen can be reached at Kathleen@kathleengivens.com.

New York Times bestselling author Claire Delacroix sold her first book in 1992, an historical romance called ROMANCE OF THE ROSE. Since then, she has published over sixty romance novels and novellas, and has also been published under the names Claire Cross and Deborah Cooke. She has an honours degree in history, with a focus on medieval studies. She is an avid reader of medieval vernacular literature, fairy tales and fantasy novels. For books written under the pseudonym, Claire Cross, see: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/... For books written under Claire's own name, Deborah Cooke, please see: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/... In October and November 2009, she was the writer in residence for the Toronto Public Library, the first time that the library has hosted a residency focused on the romance genre. Visit her two websites here: http://www.delacroix.net http://www.deborahcooke.com Like her Facebook Fan Pages here: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorClaireD... https://www.facebook.com/AuthorDebora... Subscribe to her monthly newsletter to keep up to date and receive special offers: http://eepurl.com/reIuD

Trained as an artist with a BFA in Illustration from the California College of Arts and Crafts, Susan Krinard became a writer in 1992 when a friend read a short story she'd written and suggested she try writing a romance novel. A long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, Susan began reading romance—and realized what she wanted to do was combine the two genres. Prince of Wolves, her first romance novel and one of the earliest to feature a werewolf hero, was the result. Within a year Susan had sold the manuscript to Bantam as part of a three-book contract, and the novel went on to make several bestseller lists. Since then, she's written and published over fourteen paranormal and fantasy novels, and written stories for a number of anthologies, both fantasy and romance. Both the anthology Out of This World (which included Susan's "Kinsman") and the novel Lord of the Beasts appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List. Susan makes her home in New Mexico, the "Land of Enchantment", with her husband Serge, their dogs Freya, Nahla and Cagney, and their cat Jefferson. In addition to writing, Susan's interests include music of almost every kind, old movies, reading, nature, baking, and collecting unique handmade jewelry and decorative crafts.

Pat McDermott’s novels, which are mainly set in Ireland, include tales of action/adventure, romance, and fantasy. The Glimmer Books, Glancing Through the Glimmer, Autumn Glimmer, and A Pot of Glimmer, are young adult paranormal adventures starring Ireland’s mischievous fairies and a royal family that might have been. The Glimmer Books are “prequels” to her popular Band of Roses Trilogy: A Band of Roses, Fiery Roses, and Salty Roses. Unholy Crossing is a ghost story set in Boston and Ireland in 1912. Her contemporary romances, The Rosewood Whistle, The Bogwood Horse, and The Cherrywood Banjo, feature Ireland’s music and myths. Pat's favorite non-writing activities include cooking, hiking, reading, and traveling, especially to Ireland. She lives and writes in New Hampshire with her husband and three talkative Tonkinese cats.

Jenna Maclaine has a BA in history from North Georgia College & State University. When she isn't writing she spends her time caring for the 80+ animals that share her family farm in the beautiful foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Official Website: http://www.jennamaclaine.com Jenna's MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/jennamaclaine Jenna's Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/jennamaclaine

This is the pen name of Cathy Clamp and C.T. Adams (co-authors of the Thrall trilogy and the Sazi series published by Tor). They created this name to write under to make it easier for new fans (or old) to find them on the book shelves. http://us.macmillan.com/author/catadams

USA Today bestselling author, Helen Scott Taylor, had her first book released in 2009. The Magic Knot, won the American Title contest, was a Golden Heart® finalist, and was chosen as one of Booklist's top ten romances of 2009. Since then, she has published other novels, novellas, and short stories in both the UK and USA. Helen lives in South West England near Exeter in Devon. As well as her wonderful long-suffering husband, she shares her home with a Westie and a birman cat. She believes that deep within everyone there's a little magic.

First place (GOLD) winner in the Romance category of the 2013 Independent Publisher (IPPY) awards for THE LAST OF LADY LANSDOWN. I was born and raised in Fresno, California, where I graduated from Fresno High School. I lived in Canada for many years, enjoying skiing and riding horses, and am a graduate of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada with a B.S. in Computer Science. I've had many jobs in my lifetime, including working for several years as a computer programmer/analyst. However, my true passion has always been writing, so I quit my day job (something you're never supposed to do) and started writing Regency romances. After publishing several Regencies with Ballantine, Signet, and Camel Press, I switched genres. Now I'm writing western romances for Kensington Lyrical Press, all taking place in the Gold Rush days of the 1850's. I love this period of time. There's so much to write about! With my shelves full of research books, I doubt I'll change genres again. I have two daughters and am forever proud of their accomplishments—and grateful, too, that both are the kind of loving, supportive daughters every mother hopes she'll have. I live in Las Vegas, Nevada, where I belong to the Las Vegas chapter of Romance Writers of America. I love hearing from my readers and can be reached at mailto:shirleyken360@gmail.com

With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today's bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice writes emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances which have won numerous awards, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards. Her books have also been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA® finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories. A firm believer in happily-ever-after for good reason, Patricia Rice is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. A native of Kentucky and New York, a past resident of North Carolina and Missouri, she currently resides in Southern California, and now does accounting only for herself. She also writes under the pen name Jamie Quaid

Ciar Cullen grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. After working as an archaeologist for a decade in Greece and England, she settled in New Jersey, where she writes and works at a prominent college. Ciar is happily married with one cat. To learn more about Ciar Cullen, please visit www.ciarcullen.com, where you can send an email to her. Her blog is at http://www.ciarcullen.wordpress.com and she often reviews books and hosts other authors. Email her at ciar@ciarcullen.com