The Ladies
~April Morelock~
- Blogs on: Tuesday
At the end of first grade, her dad brought home all of the textbooks from school. Before the summer was over, she’d read them all and never stopped. To this day she can still remember those early books and one of her favorite series, Trixi Belden. As a teenager, her Gran introduced her to romance and she’s never looked back.
Today, she writes those romances, all kinds – from warm, fuzzy love stories to scorching hot paranormal and contemporaries. She lives her own real-life romance with her mountain-man husband, two kids, a dog and fifty-some chickens in a rural area of Indiana writing both as April Morelock and Foxhawke.
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~Arianna Skye~
At a young age, Arianna Skye discovered her love for the written word. She wrote her very first book about the woes of peer pressure at the tender age of ten. All twenty pages of it. When she was fifteen, she read her first romance novel and was hooked. Soon after, she knew this was what she wanted to write. At the age of eighteen, she wrote her first romance novel, a two hundred page handwritten manuscript, which she threw away. Bad Arianna!
After college and a slight detour into the world of technology, Arianna began her career as a technical support and help desk representative. Yes, she’s a geek. Deal with it. Then in 2006, she discovered writing again and found what she’d been missing. That, and she was getting sick of all those voices in her head nagging her for so long.
Historical romance had always been Arianna’s first love, so it was only natural that her first work would be a regency. However, as she discovered new genres, she realized she had an affinity to the paranormal. She set the regency to the side and started plugging away at a fantasy erotic romance. Wings of Desire, her first complete novel, is an award winning manuscript, taking first in the 2008 Passionate Ink Stroke of Midnight contest.
Arianna was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and still lives in one of its small suburbs. Besides writing and reading, she enjoys a plethora of activities, ranging from swimming, arts and crafts, and messing around on her computer. She’s a geek, remember?
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~Catherine Spencer~
- Blogs on: Sunday
Eight grade was a big year for me. It’s the year I discovered both romance novels and a love of writing. Unfortunately, my science teacher caught me writing steamy stories in which my best friend — with her knowledge and encouragement — starred, and the whole class was privy to my first efforts. At the end of the year, my class voted me “most creative.” My parents still think it’s because I’m artistic. I’ve always loved to write, but, until a few years ago, never believed I could write fiction. Once I believed, it took me another few years to get started. The process of writing a whole novel is daunting, not to mention the even longer and more arduous process of getting published. Then I saw something on a romance writer’s website about the money involved in a romance writing career. Reading through the article, I caught myself thinking, “So what? If you love it, do it.” That was my wake-up call to just get started already. After all, the journey never has a chance if you don’t take the first step. I began the first draft of my first novel days later. Scary thing was, I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. I loved it a hundred times more. That first novel has since been put to rest, but I’ve haven’t stopped writing.
I was born and raised in Seattle, WA, but moved to Washington, D.C. with my boyfriend in my early twenties and have been here ever since. I have a B.A. in Art History, work as an E.A., and have plans to go back to school for a B.S. in architecture in the next couple of years.
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~Dara England~
Dara England is the pen name of Carol Green, a writer of fantasy, paranormal romance, historical fiction, and contemporary fairytales.
Dara has written numerous works of fiction over the years and her first published novel, a paranormal/time travel romance titled Brought to Life, debuts March 2, 2009 from Lyrical Press.
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~Haven Rich~
- Website/Blog
- MySpace
- Facebbook
- Admin only
Haven Rich would say she has been a pre-published author for about six years but only recently came to the understanding of what it really meant to be a “serious” writer. So in a sense, her writing has only begun.
Her writing career began when she set aside a childhood swear that she would never be “one of those women who read romance”. Having always enjoyed reading, Haven kept to poetry and dark novels that dealt with ghost stories and vampires. This could explain her ever growing passion for writing sexy vampires. In truth, the urge to write romance didn’t come to her until she read two inspiring books: To Sir Phillip, With Love by Julia Quinn and Midnight Embrace by Amanda Ashley. It was then the desire to write for struck her with full force. Having written poetry in the past, with some published, she quickly learned that writing romance was a whole other beast. A beast that required plots, characters and most importantly a romance story that would captivate her readers. So began a new journey.
Although her writing has only begun, Haven founded the group, Romantic Inks (formally Romantically Inclined) in December of 2005. The idea was to have a group of woman find a common ground and share their ups and downs with others who are also making their way in the writing world. It was also the ideal place to have experts in the field (published authors) to share advice and wisdom they have already learned.
Haven currently resides in Louisiana with her husband, both of which are slaves to eight royal cats and one extremely spoiled Cocker Spaniel. She is also a member of Romance Divas, RWA and the Beau Monde (an RWA chapter).
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~Kat Mancos~
- Blogs on: Monday
Multiple names, varied genres are all part of MK Mancos/Kathleen Scott/Kate Davison’s world. She began her storytelling about the same time she acquired language skills. When faced with nightmares as a child, the pediatrician instructed her mother to read her stories before bed. But being the precocious child she was, she wanted nothing but unadulterated tales by the Brothers Grimm. The battle raged between MK and her mother over suitable bedtime material, until MK was forced to begin telling herself tales before going to sleep. Thus began the lifelong love of books, stories, and lives not her own.
She lives in the NJ Highlands with her husband, Dave – a graphic artist and cartoonist, and their dog, Lily.
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~Kendal Corbitt~
- Blogs on: Tuesday
I love to write. It’s that simple. Everything from love notes to my husband in his briefcase, to long emails to good friends, to romance stories ranging for sensual sweet to infernal hot erotica. I strive to put passion and depth into each character and every story. I want my readers to finish any of my books with the literary high of pleasure that only comes from Happily Ever After.
I live in Canada with my husband, Peaches and Mango (my two cats), and Disa (my great dane). I am a member of RWA and Romance Divas. As of February 2009 I will be published in erotica with a short story called Caught in the Act. I write under the pen name Kendal Ashby for sweet sensual romance, but save all the really hot stuff for Kendal Corbitt.
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~Lara Rose~
Lara Rose learned to read when she was four and she never looked back. When it came time to pick a career, the idea of creating the books she loved so much seemed like a perfect choice. After over a decade in the other side of publishing, she’s finally letting her writing muse free to create her own stories.
Lara is a member of RWA, Toronto Romance Writers and Passionate Ink. She lives in Toronto, Canada with The Guy and The Pup.
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~Leigh Ellwood~
Leigh Ellwood is an award-winning author of erotica and erotic romance fiction. Her first novel Truth or Dare was published by Phaze in 2004, and has since been made available in paperback at Borders bookstores around the US.
In addition to her many romance novels and stories, Leigh also writes the comic strip Ged’s Gals, an internet exclusive feature, and writes non-erotic mysteries as L.K. Ellwood. Her work has also appeared on the Playgirl.com website.
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~Leigh Royals~
- Website/Blog
- MySpace
- Blogs on: Wednesday
Writing is a passion of mine and has been for as long as I can remember. I recall the elation of having poetry published in school publications and was happy to share my creativity with everyone. I’ve grown from grade school compilations and have many other ideas now. I’ve left the daily journaling and poetry behind, although it lurks in me still. My novel aspirations include a series of historical romances set in Colonial America. I love reading almost any genre, but romances are my favorite.
When I’m not reading or writing, or thinking of reading and writing, I am engrossed in motherhood, housewifery-yeah, I think that’s a real word-and my day-time job. I’m so grateful that my job has flexibility, because it lends to further exploring my creative side. I am thrilled to be invited to join these other awesome ladies.
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~Lynne DuMae~
I have always loved to read. I think I caught that bug from my grandma, who had a bookshelf from floor to ceiling in her bedroom. Books were stacked two to three rows thick throughout. I can remember sneaking into her room to “borrow” books from her. She has become my inspiration with my writing. I only wish she could still be around to see me now.
As a teenager, I fell in love with romance. Not to give away my age, but in those days, there were small category romance books for teens. I ate them up! It’s so nice to see Harlequin returning to those stories with their own line of category romance for teenagers. What better way to allow a new generation to fall in love all over again?
I write sweet and young adult romance, hoping to return to that time when I originally fell in love with reading and writing. My biggest hope is that I can touch someone else with my words, to show them the same love that I found. That is the goal I will continue to strive for.
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~Rachel Jameson~
Rachel Jameson is a writer, aspiring to become a published author. She writes Regency- and Georgian-set Historicals. The very first book Rachel read to herself was a chapter book about a pig going to market and she hasn’t stopped since. She has an insatiable appetite for books, each one spurring her imagination on to a different place, a different time, a different life.
The only books that Rachel had never read were Romance. Having thought they were ridiculous “bodice rippers”, she avoided them like the plague. While in the discount section of a bookstore, she happened to pick up a book that turned out to be a Romance! Luckily, it was a good one, or she might never have found this wonderful genre, and fallen in love!
Rachel started reading every Romance she could get her hands on. The ones that hooked her the best were almost always Regency and Georgian. Best yet, as she read them, she started to want to write again. It had been years since she’d sat down and done so, but the characters started chattering in her head, and so finally, she started to let the stories come out. Rachel has multiple projects at the moment, and is hoping to get one finished in the near future.
Rachel lives in Los Angeles, CA, and is a member of RWA, Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA), and The Beau Monde.
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~Rebecca March~
- Blogs on: Thursday
I discovered my love for reading romance novels in high school and I’ve never stopped reading since. Much to the annoyance of my family, I have mountainous stacks of “to be read” books piled up in every corner of the house. I enjoy all the romance genres, but I have a particular fondness for historicals. I adore being whisked away, between the pages of a book to another time and place when women wore beautiful dresses, rode horses, and attended balls. And of course the dashing gentlemen who risked everything for them.
It wasn’t until recently, while reading about these larger-than-life characters, I decided…why not create my own feisty heroine and witty hero? So with many trials, tribulations, starts, and re-starts…I am following my heart’s desire. Writing Romance! Anything can happen with a willingness to learn, a positive attitude, and hard work.
Rebecca is a member of RWA, Alaska Romance Writers and the Beaumonde. When she isn’t writing or riding her horse, she’s taxi driver for her kids, and wife to her husband.
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~Sabrina Darby~
Sabrina Darby has been reading romance since the age of seven and learned her best vocabulary (dulcet, diaphanous, and turgid) from them. She started writing romance the day after her wedding when she woke up with an idea for a Regency; she’s been back in the early 19th century ever since. She currently resides in California with her husband and their Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
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~Sandra Barkevich~
Sandra Barkevich lives in the foothills of the Adirondacks with her husband and two children. She’s been an avid romance reader since the tenth grade, having read more than eight-hundred books over the past fourteen years. Sandra is currently a reviewer for TCM Reviews (After all, you don’t read that many books without forming some sort of an opinion). Her latest addictions are paranormal and shapeshifter romances. Growing up, she spent hours and hours playing imagination games with her grandmother. Often creating fantasy worlds and situations that would become more elaborate as the day wore on. With the support of her loving husband, Sandra has taken the leap from reader to writer. She loves to hear feedback from her readers and can be reached via the Email link button above.
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~Stephanie Secrest~
Stephanie Secrest sees dead people and hears voices.
The dead people come courtesy of her job writing feature obituaries for an online news web site; the voices entice her into a fabulous world of romantic chick-lit–and, no, her heroines don’t work in the publishing industry, nor do they wear Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos.
Formerly from Cincinnati, Ohio, Stephanie now resides in Philadelphia with her physicist fiance and their seven cats. When she’s not writing, Stephanie enjoys scrapbooking, rubberstamping, keeping Southwest Airlines in business, and drooling over Hamid Karzai and Hugh Laurie.
