Cathy Williams is a great believer in the power of perseverance as she had never written anything before her writing career, and from the starting point of zero has now fulfilled her ambition to pursue this most enjoyable of careers. She would encourage any would-be writer to have faith and go for it! She derives inspiration from the tropical island of Trinidad and from the peaceful countryside of middle England.
Cathy lives in Warwickshire her family.
Anne Mather always wanted to write. For years she wrote only for her own pleasure, and it wasn't until her husband suggested that she ought to send one of her stories to a publisher that they put several publishers' names into a hat and pulled one out. The rest as they say in history. 150 books later, Anne is literally staggered by the result! Her email address is mystic-am@msn.com and she would be happy to hear from any of her readers.
Abby Green spent her teens reading Mills & Boon romances.
She then spent many years working in the Film and TV industry as an Assistant Director. One day while standing outside an actor's trailer in the rain, she thought: there has to be more than this. So she sent off a partial to Harlequin Mills & Boon. After many rewrites, they accepted her first book and an author was born. She lives in Dublin, Ireland and you can find out more here: www.abby-green.com
Sharon Kendrick started story-telling at the age of eleven and has never stopped.
She likes to write fast-paced, feel-good romances with heroes who are so sexy they'll make your toes curl! She lives in the beautiful city of Winchester - where she can see the cathedral from her window (when standing on tip-toe!). She has two children, Celia and Patrick and her passions include music, books, cooking and eating - and drifting into daydreams while working out new plots.
Kate Hewitt has worked a variety of different jobs, from drama teacher to editorial assistant to church youth worker, but writing romance is the best one yet.
She also writes short stories and serials for women's magazines, and all her stories celebrate the healing and redemptive power of love. Kate lives in a tiny village with her husband, five children, and an overly affectionate Golden Retriever.
USA Today bestselling author Heidi Rice used to work as a film journalist until she found a new dream job writing romance for Harlequin in 2007. She adores getting swept up in a world of high emotions, sensual excitement, funny feisty women, sexy tortured men and glamourous locations where laundry doesn't exist.
She lives in London, England with her husband, two sons and lots of other gorgeous men who exist entirely in her imagination (unlike the laundry, unfortunately!)
Susan Stephens is passionate about writing books set in fabulous locations where an outstanding man comes to grips with a cool, feisty woman. Susan's hobbies include travel, reading, theatre, long walks, playing the piano, and she loves hearing from readers at her website.
www.susanstephens.com
Carol Marinelli recently filled in a form asking for her job title. Thrilled to be able to put down her answer, she put writer. Then it asked what Carol did for relaxation and she put down the truth - writing. The third question asked for her hobbies. Well, not wanting to look obsessed she crossed the fingers on her hand and answered swimming but, given that the chlorine in the pool does terrible things to her highlights - I'm sure you can guess the real answer.
Maya Blake's writing dream started at 13.
She eventually realised her dream when she received The Call in 2012. Maya lives in England with her husband, kids and an endless supply of books. Contact Maya: www.mayabauthor.blogspot.com www.twitter.com/mayablake www.facebook.com/maya.blake.94
Rachael has loved writing stories since she was a small child, but it was the discovery of Mills and Boon as a teenager, that started her love affair with romance.
In 2013 she entered Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write competition and her entry earned her a place in the Top Ten. That entry, A Deal Before the Altar became her debut title. Rachael lives in Wales on a farm and loves exploring. Her latest adventure was in the Sahara Desert for charity - and research!
Susan Carlisle's love affair with books began when she made a bad grade in math. Not allowed to watch TV until the grade had improved, she filled her time with books.
Turning her love of reading into a love for writing romance, she pens hot medicals. She loves castles, traveling, afternoon tea, reads voraciously and hearing from her readers. Join her newsletter at www. SusanCarlisle.com
The day Maggie Cox saw the film version of Wuthering Heights, was the day she became hooked on romance. From that day onwards she spent a lot of time dreaming up her own romances, hoping that one day she might become published.
Now that her dream is being realised, she wakes up every morning and counts her blessings. She is married to a gorgeous man, and is the mother of two wonderful sons. Her other passions in life - besides her family and reading/writing - are music and films.
MICHELLE DOUGLAS has been writing for Mills & Boon since 2007, and believes she has the best job in the world. She's a sucker for happy endings, heroines who have a secret stash of chocolate, and heroes who know how to laugh.
She lives in Newcastle Australia with her own romantic hero, a house full of dust and books, and an eclectic collection of sixties and seventies vinyl. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted via her website www.michelle-douglas.com
Approaching 50 Harlequin titles, Dianne is still as passionate about writing romance as ever. As a former intensive care nurse, it's no wonder medicine has found its way into her writing, and she's grateful to Harlequin Medicals for allowing her to write her stories.
"They return me to the days I loved being a nurse and combine that with my love of the romance novels I've been reading since I was a young teen."
Liz Fielding was born with itchy feet. She made it to Zambia before her twenty-first birthday and, gathering her own special hero and a couple of children on the way, lived in Botswana, Kenya and Bahrain. Seven of her titles have been nominated for RWA's Rita®; and she has won the Best Traditional Romance in 2000, the British Romance Prize in 2005 and the Best Short Contemporary Romance in 2006.
Lynne Graham lives in Northern Ireland and has been a keen romance reader since her teens.
Happily married, Lynne has five children. Her eldest is her only natural child. Her other children, who are every bit as dear to her heart, are adopted. The family has a variety of pets, and Lynne loves gardening, cooking, collecting allsorts and is crazy about every aspect of Christmas.
Married to the man she met at eighteen, Susanne is the mother of two adult daughters, Orianthi and Tina. Her varied career titles have included dental nurse, personal assistant, contract manager and now Medical Romance author.
The family also extends to a maltese shih-tzu, a poodle, three ducks and four hens. Susanne has always read romance novels and says, 'I love a happy ever after so writing for Mills & Boon is a dream come true.'
Kate Hardy has been a bookworm since she was a toddler. When she isn't writing Kate enjoys reading, theatre, live music, ballet and the gym. She lives with her husband, student children and their spaniel in Norwich, England.
You can contact her via her website: www.katehardy.com
Brenda Harlen is a multi-award winning author for Harlequin Special Edition who has written over 25 books for the company.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Shirley Jump spends her days writing romance to feed her shoe addiction and avoid cleaning the toilets. She cleverly finds writing time by feeding her kids junk food, allowing them to dress in the clothes they find on the floor and encouraging the dogs to double as vacuum cleaners.
Chat with her via Facebook: www.facebook.com/shirleyjump.author or her website: www.shirleyjump.com.
Marion Lennox is a country girl, born on an Australian dairy farm. She moved on, because the cows just weren't interested in her stories! Married to a `very special doctor', she has also written under the name Trisha David. She's now stepped back from her `other' career teaching statistics. Finally, she's figured what's important and discovered the joys of baths, romance and chocolate.
Preferably all at the same time! Marion is an international award winning author.
Jessica Matthews grew up on a farm in western Kansas where reading was her favorite pastime. Eventually, romances and adventure stories gave way to science textbooks and research papers as she became a medical technologist, but her love for microscopes and test tubes didn't diminish her passion for storytelling. Having her first book accepted for publication was a dream come true and now, she has written thirty books for Harlequin.
Carole Mortimer was born in England, the youngest of three children.
She began writing in 1978, and has now written over one hundred and seventy books for Harlequin Mills and Boon®. Carole has six sons, Matthew, Joshua, Timothy, Michael, David and Peter. She says, 'I'm happily married to Peter senior; we're best friends as well as lovers, which is probably the best recipe for a successful relationship. We live in a lovely part of England.'
Lynn Raye Harris is a Southern girl, military wife, wannabe cat lady, and horse lover.
She's also the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM (R) SERIES of military romances, and 20 books about sexy billionaires for Harlequin.
Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, one fluffy princess of a cat, and a very spoiled American Saddlebred horse who enjoys bucking at random in order to keep Lynn on her toes.
Born and raised just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Amy fled the big city to settle down with the country boy of her dreams.
After the birth of her second child, Amy was lucky enough to realize her life long dream of becoming a romance author. When she's not furiously typing away at her computer, she's a mom to three wonderful children who use her as a personal taxi and chef.
Patricia Thayer was born in Muncie, Indiana, the second of eight children. She attended Ball State University before heading to California. A longtime member of RWA, Patricia has authored fifty books.
She's been nominated for the Prestige RITA award and winner of the RT Reviewer's Choice award. She loves traveling with her husband, Steve, calling it research. When she wants some time with her guy, they escape to their mountain cabin and sit on the deck and let the world race by.
Previously a teacher, pig farmer, and builder (among other things), Meredith Webber turned to writing medical romances when she decided she needed a new challenge.
Once committed to giving it a "real" go she joined writers' groups, attended conferences and read every book on writing she could find. Teaching a romance writing course helped her to analyze what she does, and she believes it has made her a better writer. Readers can email Meredith at: mem@onthenet.com.au
Annie has devoted her life to an intensive study of charismatic heroes who cause the best kind of trouble in the lives of their heroines.
As a sideline she researches locations for romance, from vibrant cities to desert encampments and fairytale castles. Annie lives in eastern Australia with her hero husband, between sandy beaches and gorgeous wine country. She finds writing the perfect excuse to postpone housework. To contact her or join her newsletter, visit www.annie-west.com
Scarlet Wilson wrote her first story aged eight and has never stopped.
She's worked in the health service for 20 years, trained as a nurse and a health visitor. Scarlet now works in public health and lives on the West Coast of Scotland with her fiance and their two sons. Writing medical romances and contemporary romances is a dream come true for her.
Rebecca Winters lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. With canyons and high alpine meadows full of wildflowers, she never runs out of places to explore.
They, plus her favourite vacation spots in Europe, often end up as backgrounds for her romance novels because writing is her passion, along with her family and church. Rebecca loves to hear from readers. If you wish to e-mail her, please visit her website at: www.cleanromances.net.
