Writing romance sounds fascinating. Huh? I'm a writer. I'm boring. Day after day I sit behind a word processor making up people in my head. Why do I do it? I love it. My husband, Dave, gets up in the morning, puts on a suit and heads out into the ice and cold of Ballarat's winter. (Sadly I live in one of the tiny parts of Australia that qualifies as cold.) I make myself another cup of coffee, head up to my study, choose what music I want and sit and daydream. And I get paid for doing it. Hooray! My first attempt at writing romance, 'Dare To Love Again', a Medical Romance, was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon in 1990. It still stands today as a monument to my family's ability to survive on cheese sandwiches and spaghetti. Since then I've written over 80 Romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon, with more on the drawing board. (I used a pseudonym - Trisha David - for the first few Romances but suffered with a split personality and have since reverted to being Marion Lennox all the time.) In between romances, I've co-authored a non-fiction history, (I love local history) done the odd (very odd) spot of housework and done a heap of travelling - research :-) I come from a farming community. You can probably tell this from my books. There's not a skyscraper in sight. I'm very much a pets person. Chloe and Harry were my constant canine companions for many years as I wrote, demanding walks and air freshener at frequent intervals. Sadly I lost them, and for a while I vowed not to get another. My heart was broken and my study smelled so clean! But.. The cat and I missed them so badly we weakened and bought Mitzi. Mitzi's a black and silver mini-schnauzer who makes me and the cat laugh. Expect to find her in future stories. If you're interested in formalities, I hold a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a teaching diploma. I have a couple of kids and a huge extended family who look on me with affectionate tolerance. Marion? The crazy one who talks to people in her head... I've had nine nominations for the Rita, winning twice, and fourteen for the Australian Book of the Year. After years of thinking of my writing as a hobby I guess I finally now qualify as a real' writer. Thank your for taking the trouble to check out my web page. Now try my books. We might even end up having fun together. And write to me. I show my family - See? Real people do like the things that go in in my head.'

Kate is the USA Today-bsetselling author of many books of both historical and contemporary fiction. Under the name Katharine Swartz, she is the author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the village of Goswell. She likes to read women's fiction, mystery and thrillers, as well as historical novels. She particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots. Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and two Golden Retrievers.

Carol Marinelli was born in England to Scottish parents, then emigrated to Australia, where there are loads of Scottish and English people who did exactly the same, so she’s very at home there. She lives in the outer suburbs of Melbourne—pretty much in her car, driving her three children to their various commitments. Carol writes for the Harlequin Presents and Medical lines and she also writes contemporary women's fiction (with a dark twist). When she's not writing she's reading, when she's not reading she's writing.

I grew up on a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney and as a keen horse rider, often competed in local gymkhanas and even broke in a few horses from time to time. As I was surrounded by animals, I decided at an early age to become a nurse, however I couldn’t stand the sight of blood and so opted for a career in teaching. It’s a bit ironic that I married a surgeon. I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was 17 and that encouraged me to continue reading romance novels; the lure of the tall dark handsome hero, who in reality I fell in love with and knew I was going to marry on our second date! After marrying a year later, we moved to Scotland with our six week old baby so my husband could work and study for his MD in surgery. After the birth of our second son we came back to Australia to settle in Tasmania. I went back to University and up-graded my teaching diploma to a degree and then went on to do a Masters but still I felt as if something was missing. I sat down one day and began writing and everything clicked into place - I had finally found ‘my brilliant career’! I used to write from instinct rather than a specific plan, but now, so many books later I find a loose plan doesn't go astray. An idea will pop into my head, sometimes it will be just a simple phrase or a what if question and I'm away. Writing is a skill that can be learned and the best way to learn it is to read and to write. So many people feel they have a novel in them and very probably they are right-the only trick is to get it out. My advice to ‘would be’ writers is to write, write, and write even more. Carry a notebook at all times and jot down ideas. And like any other activity the more you do, the more it feels comfortable. I hope you enjoy my stories and look forward to hearing from you.

I grew up without a TV, let alone DVD’s, computer games etc that my kids spend so much time engrossed in, but I learned to read at an early age and from then on I was always entertained – so much so that my friends used to hide their books when I visited them because all I wanted to do was read! When I was a teenager I discovered Mills & Boon romances in my local library, and so began a lifelong love affair. I still remember that feeling of anticipation when I settled down with a pile of books - all bearing the famous rose logo - knowing that I would be drawn into a world of love, passion and emotional intensity that I have never found in any other books. I enjoy reading a wide range of books, especially historical novels, and I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, mainly I think because her characters seem so real, but I love romances and unashamedly admit that I only want to read books with a guaranteed happy ending. Reading is my joy and pleasure and I don’t want to cry buckets at the end of a book or have my sleep disturbed by its gruesome content. For me, the characters in Harlequin Mills & Boon romances are the key. I love reading and writing about strong, alpha heroes and feisty, independent heroines who find that they can’t fight the blazing attraction between them. When I married my own tall, dark, but sadly not wealthy hero, we moved out of London to the Kent coast and started a family that grew and grew. I adore my six children, and when they were small I loved being a stay-at-home mum, but there can be days, as I’m sure many of you know, when you feel isolated and – dare I say it – bored of conversing with three-year-olds. Harlequin Mills & Boon romances were my life-line and my sanity and I read them whenever I had a spare five minutes (in the bath, pacing the floor at three am with colicky baby on one shoulder and a book in the other hand!) My imagination soared and I decided to try and write a book myself. My first attempt was typed up on a manual type-writer with the full-stop key and the letter p missing. Luckily my hero and heroine were not called Paul and Poppy, but it still meant going over my manuscript with a pen to fill in the gaps! That first book was duly rejected as were my next two. I suppose I was disheartened and by now I had four small children and very little spare time, so although I continued to read romances, I gave up writing. It wasn’t until my youngest son started school that I tried writing again. I was struggling to come to terms with the death of my darling mum Gabrielle and writing became my therapy. Mum had always nagged me to get on and write a book and had an unshakeable belief that I would one day be published – I’m so glad that she was proved right and my biggest regret is that she isn’t here to share my success with me. I wrote two more books which were both rejected by HM&B, but I was given some advice on my writing from the editorial team that encouraged me to try again. Third time lucky certainly applied to me – the day I received ‘the call’ was exactly four years after Mum had died. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life - but instead of chatting to the editor about contracts I had to dash off and pick my sick daughter up from school. Reality is never far away in my house! I have now had nine books published - At the Sheikh's Bidding was released in September 08. My next book, Argentinian Playboy, Unexpected Love-Child will be out in the UK in July 09, and The Greek Billionaire's Innocent Princess in the UK in August 09. I have just had my twelfth book accepted and am already busy on my thirteenth. Now that my children are growing up I am able to write every day between 9 am and 3 pm, but often I become so involved with my characters that I sneak off to write again in the evening! I feel I must be one of the luckiest people in the world to be doing something that I love, but I work hard at my luck and I believe that w

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information. Hello! I love writing passionate, intense love stories about sexy alpha men and the women who are their perfect match. Look out for my books with Harlequin (Presents) or Mills & Boon (Modern/Sexy) and for my indie stories, full of passion and intense emotion with a touch of glamour. My latest stories are my Hot Italian Nights series including 'Bound to the Italian Boss' June '17, 'The Italian's Bold Reckoning' July '17, 'At the Italian's Bidding' August '17 and 'Falling for the Brooding Italian' September '17. Yes, I do like a dark, handsome hero! You can catch up with my news at www.annie-west.com (where you can also sign up for my exclusive reader newsletter with giveaways and behind the scenes info). I'm on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/anniewest.au... and I adore hearing from readers. You can also contact me at annie(at)annie-west(dot)com I live with my family at beautiful Lake Macquarie on the east Coast of Australia and my favourite things when not writing are good food, good company, great books, getting outside in nature and travel. Bookwise, I'm a multi USA Today bestselling author with millions of books sold, in English as well as in lots of other languages. I've won the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award and the Romantic Book of the Year (Romance Writers of Australia). One of my favourite review quotes is from Romantic Times which said in its review of The Sheikh's Ransomed Bride 'This is what a love story could be.'.

Jennie Lucas had a tragic beginning for any would-be writer: a very happy childhood. Her parents owned a bookstore, and she grew up surrounded by books, dreaming about faraway lands. Her mother read aloud to her in French when she was little; when she was ten, her father secretly paid her a dollar for every classic novel (Jane Eyre, War and Peace) that she read. As a chubby teenager, Jennie covered her bedroom with travel posters and always had her nose in a book. At fifteen, she went to a Connecticut boarding school on scholarship. She took her first solo trip to Europe at sixteen, then put off college and traveled around the U.S., supporting herself with jobs as diverse as gas station cashier and newspaper advertising assistant. At 22, she met the man who would be her husband. For the first time in her life, she wanted to stay in one place, as long as she could be with him. After their marriage, she graduated from Kent State University with a degree in English, and started writing books a year later. Jennie was a finalist in the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart contest in 2003 and won the award in 2005. A fellow 2003 finalist, Australian author Trish Morey, read Jennie’s writing and told her that she should write for Harlequin Presents. It seemed like too big a dream, but Jennie took a deep breath and went for it. A year later, after seven years of writing and eight finished manuscripts, Jennie got the magical call from London that turned her into a published author. Since then, life has been hectic, juggling a writing career, a sexy husband and two young children, but Jennie loves her crazy, chaotic life. Who needs a clean house? Every day, Jennie gets swept into drama, glamour and passion. Now if she can only figure out how to pack up her family and live in all the places she’s writing about!

I was told off as a child for making up stories—little did I know that one day I’d earn my living by writing them! To the horror of my parents, I left school at sixteen and held a bewildering variety of jobs: I was a London DJ (in the now-trendy Primrose Hill), a decorator and a singer. After that I became a cook, a photographer and, eventually, a nurse. I waitressed in the south of France, drove an ambulance in Australia, saw lots of beautiful sights but could never settle down. Everywhere I went I felt like a square peg—until one day I started writing again and then everything just fell into place. I felt like Cinderella must have when the glass slipper fit! Today, I have the best job in the world, writing passionate romances for Harlequin. I like writing stories which are sexy and fast-paced, yet packed full of emotion—stories that readers will identify with, laugh and cry along with. My interests are many and varied—chocolate and music, fresh flowers and bubble baths, films, cooking and trying to keep my home from looking burglarized! Simple pleasures—you can’t beat them! I live in Winchester, one of the most stunning cities in the world, but don’t take my word for it—come see for yourself! I regularly visit London and Paris. Oh, and I love hearing from my readers all over the world…so I think it’s over to you!

Trish Morey always fancied herself a writer, but was sternly advised that she better better think about getting a real job instead. Which Trish figures must be why she spent her university years washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant by night and picking gherkins for an Adelaide Hills primary producer by day. (Enough to put you off "real jobs" for life). It was another twelve years, an accounting career and two babies on that Trish once again turned her mind to writing. it was a further eleven years (and two more babies:)) before Trish sold her first book to Harlequin Presents, and her dream of being a published author came true. Some forty books later, Trish is now an award winning and USA Today Bestselling Author of some 40+ books. Trish still loves writing romance but these days combines it with all the fun, drama and sisterhood of women, family and girlfriends. When she’s not out traveling the world in search of inspiration for her stories, Trish lives with her husband, Daisy their over enthusiastic Cavoodle pup, Daisy, and Leo, their very old and totally unenthusiastic cat, down on the glorious South Coast of South Australia where the waves crash over the granite rocks and splash upon the golden sands.Trish reckons she has the best job in the world.