Romance and Women's Fiction author, Rosalyn Alsobrook, spent the first eighteen years of her life in Daingerfield, Texas, under the loving guidance of her parents, Dr. and Mrs. L. E. Rutledge, who encouraged her liberally in all her early endeavors, including a weekly newspaper column for a local newspaper, which she created and wrote during her senior year of high school.

Soon after marrying high school sweetheart, Bobby Alsobrook early in 1971, she and her husband moved to Longview, Texas, where they lived for five years. During their first year in Longview, their older son was born. Even so, Rosalyn attended Kilgore College and became feature editor of the college newspaper for two years. Soon thereafter, she joined the frantic world of working mothers. Also during that time she sold short articles to magazines and did some technical writing in the medical field.    In 1976, she and Bobby moved to Gilmer, Texas, where they established and operated their own auto parts business for ten years. In 1977 their second son was born. In that time, Rosalyn not only did the office work and helped on the counter of the auto parts store, she wrote a weekly newspaper column called "The Shade Tree Mechanic" and continued to freelance magazine articles but soon gave that up for bolder endeavors.

Before writing, Laura graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus, with a degree in interior design. After working in the field for three years, she concentrated on a whole other business--raising her newborn twins. By the time her children were somewhat self-sufficient, the urge to once again work in a creative field took over, and so the decision was made to turn her lifelong hobbies of romance reading and writing into a career.

Laura started out in the writing field by penning short romantic fiction and nonfiction which she sold to nationally circulated magazines such as First for women, True Confessions, True Romance, and Grit, but after selling over seventy short works, she longed to try her hand at novel-length fiction. In October 1998, her first book, SENTENCED TO SABRINA, was published by Kensington's Precious Gem line. In 1999, her second PG, KISS ME ONCE AGAIN, was released. Her third PG, MISTLETOE AND MOLLY, is due in stores the holiday season of 2000. Available in 2001 will be a mini-romance published by AMI entitled, HAPPILY NEVER AFTER. It will be sold at virtually all supermarket check-outs in the country.

Along with her handsome hubby, adorable boy/girl twins, and a lazy part dachshund mutt, Laura lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When she's not writing, Laura loves to garden, scuba dive, needlepoint, and of course, read romance!

After graduating high school in a small farming community in Greenwood, Arkansas, Debi moved to the Oklahoma City area where she now lives with her husband Robert.     Debi’s interest in writing was sparked by a Creative Writing class at the University of Central Oklahoma in the early 80‘s.     The class left her intrigued and wanting for more.     Her new insationable appetite for creating pushed her to write poetry, which led to writing lyrics for a Christian contemporary rock group then on to a career of writing monthly newsletters and employee manuals.     The class started a chain of interest that would eventually lead her to become interested in writing a book.

Her first novel, Dancing Alone (released June 21, 2003 by Publish America) was started after receiving word her husband had been diagnosed with cancer.     Overwhelmed by feelings she did not know how to express, Debi found writing fiction to be a tranquil escape from a harsh reality as she saturated herself in the fairy tale romance she was creating inside her mind.     Just after securing a contract for her first book, another story began to itch in the back of Debi’s mind, which she is now currently working on and hoping to complete by year end.

Jennifer Blake has been called one of the "First Ladies" of romance and a "classic" romance author. Her initial book was published in 1970, and she became a New York Times Best Selling author in 1977 with the release of LOVE'S WILD DESIRE.

A charter, and honorary, member of Romance Writers of America, Jennifer was one of the earliest recipients of the organization's Golden Treasure RITA for Lifetime Achievement. She is also an RWA Hall of Fame member. She holds numerous honors from Romantic Times Magazine, is a member of the Affaire de Coeur Romance Hall of Fame, and has been awarded the Holt Medallion for Outstanding Literary Talent as well as many other romance industry citations. In 1997, she received the Frank Waters Award for Excellence in Writing, the first time this prestigious literary honor was presented to an author of commercial work.

Linda Castillo grew up in a small farming community in Western Ohio. She knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a writer, and penned her first novel at the age of thirteen during one of those long Ohio winters.

She is the winner of numerous writing awards, including a nomination for the prestigious Rita Award for Best First Book. She writes romantic suspense for Silhouette Intimate Moments and is currently working on her High Country Heroes miniseries featuring the courageous men of Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue. Her first contemporary romantic suspense novel from Berkley, THE PERFECT VICTIM, debuts in August 2002.

Beth Cornelison started writing stories as a child when she penned a tale about the adventures of her cat, Ajax. A Georgia native, Cornelison received her bachelor's degree in Public Relations from the University of Georgia. After working in Public Relations for a little more than a year, she moved with her husband to West Monroe, Louisiana, where she decided to pursue her love of writing fiction. Since that time, she has written several books, including her romantic suspense CHASING A DREAM, which reached the final round of the 2000 Golden Heart Contest sponsored by the Romance Writers of America.

In the Spring of 2000, Beth fulfilled her dream of publishing when Avid Press offered her a contract on CHASING A DREAM. The editors at Avid Press have since nominated CHASING A DREAM for the Frankfurt E-Book Award for excellence in electronic publishing. She is active on the board of directors for the North Louisiana chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Beth loves history and loves to write about it. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, having written stories about her and her friends while in grammar school. She's edited high school and college newspapers, has had several newspaper articles published, penned seven historicals and one contemporary, and hopes she's on her way to a writing career. Of TEMPEST, Beth's debut book, Romance Review Today says, in part "Beth Daigre has penned a delightful novel with characters who grab your attention from the very first page."

She has lived with her military husband, Bill, in Arkansas, Colorado, and Japan. She now resides in Louisiana where she is active in her church, writes to her heart's content and is active in North Louisiana StoryTellers and Authors of Romance-Shreveport. Her other interests include her family, friends, traveling, reading, and anything Victorian.

Her two daughters and one son are scattered from Texas to Florida where she spends most of her vacations. Her five grandsons hold a special place in her heart.

Jane has had a love of reading all her life, but she wasn't content just to read books--she wanted to write them. At the age of five, she was already creating her own illustrated stories, and by the time she graduated from high school, the passion still hadn't faded. She attended the University of Oklahoma, where she earned a B.A. in Journalism in the Professional Writing program, but several years passed before she pursued publication. Then one day a friend handed her five romance novels from her keeper shelf, and a few days later after reading them all, she knew exactly what she wanted to write.

In 1999, she was a finalist for Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart Award, which led to her first sale to Harlequin Duets. Now this award-winning author writes single-title contemporary romances for Ballantine/Ivy, as well as series romance for Harlequin Temptation under the name Jane Sullivan. In 2002, she is a double finalist for RWA's prestigious Rita award. Her first book from Ballantine, I GOT YOU, BABE, is a finalist in the Single-Title Contemporary category, and THE MATCHMAKER'S MISTAKE, a Harlequin Duets, is a finalist in the Short Contemporary category.

Winnie lives with her husband and four children the rural northwest Louisiana town of Plain Dealing.     Though she humored her left-brain side by earning a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics and landing a 'day job' in the Information Services field, she's much more comfortable with her right brain love of fairy tales and happily ever afters.     To feed that love, she's spent countless hours with her nose firmly planted inside the pages of romance novels.    

Winnie has penned stories for her own enjoyment since middle school, but it wasn't until her own children were school-aged that she decided to try her hand at novel length work.     Since that time she's earned numerous writing awards for her historical romance manuscripts.     2000 was a landmark year for Winnie, both professionally and personally, as she saw her oldest daughter start college, celebrated her 25th wedding anniversary and not only sold her first book but ended the year with a second sale as well.    

Deborah Hale Deborah Hale lives in Nova Scotia, Canada and has been a long distance member of NOLA STARs for several years. In 1997 she won RWA's Golden Heart award (Long Historical) and later sold her winning manuscript to Harlequin Historical. It was released in 1999 as MY LORD PROTECTOR. In the next 3 years, Deborah sold nine more books to the Harlequin Historical line, with settings ranging from 12th century Wales to a Montana ranch, to her own Atlantic Canada. She participated in an international Regency anthology with American author Deborah Simmons and British author Nicola Cornick, and has written two Regency on-line serials for EHarlequin.com.

So far, Deborah's books have been translated into Dutch, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Korean and Japanese. They have been nominated for a number of awards including Barclay Gold, The Dorothy Parker Award of Excellence, two Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice nominations, and the RITA finals for Best First Book. In 2004, one of Deborah's earliest writing dreams will come true when her first single title fantasy novel is released as part of the launch of Luna, Harlequin Enterprises new female fantasy imprint.

Margaret Daley, aka Shauna Michaels, Margaret Ripy and Kit Daley, is a multi-published author with thirty-four books in the romance genre. A member of the Romance Writers of America and RWA chapters, Romance Writers Ink, Faith Hope and Love, FF&P and NOLA STARs, she has been writing romances for the past twenty-two years. She has written for Dell, Silhouette, Kensington, Starlight Writer Publications, and ImaJinn Books. She has mostly written contemporary romances but has done two historicals and two paranormal, HOLD ONTO THE NIGHT and DREAM SNATCHER. .

Margaret is fortunate enough to be married to the same man for the last thirty-two years and has one son who recently married his high school sweetheart. She has always felt her husband is her inspiration in life and love and draws on her marriage to write her love stories.

Jenna Mills grew up in south Louisiana, amidst romantic plantation ruins, haunting swamps, and timeless legends. It's not surprising, then, that she wrote her first romance at the ripe old age of six! Three years later, this librarian's daughter turned to romantic suspense with JACQUIE AND THE SWAMP, a harrowing tale of a young woman on the run in the swamp and the dashing hero who helps her find her way home. Since then her stories have grown in complexity, but her affinity for adventurous women and dangerous men has remained constant. She loves writing about strong characters torn between duty and desire, conscious choice and destiny.

Prior to selling her first book, Jenna was a Golden Heart finalist and a double winner in the Silver Lining and TARA's First Impressions. She also won the prestigious Winning Beginnings, the Marlene, the Laurie, the Heart of the Rockies, Ignite the Flame, and Southern Heat, which brought her in contact with the editor at Silhouette who purchased her work.

When not writing stories brimming with deep emotion, steamy passion, and page-turning suspense, Jenna spends her time with her husband, two cats, two dogs, and a menagerie of plants in their Dallas, Texas home. Jenna loves to hear from her readers! She can be reached via e-mail at writejennamills@aol.com, or via snail mail at PO Box 768, Coppell, Texas 75019.

K. Sue Morgan is a retired schoolteacher who has raised three children and keeps trying to help with 6 grandchildren and one great-grand. Mrs. Morgan taught English, Texas History, Louisiana History and American History before turning her hand to writing at the age of sixty. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, and served on it's national board for two years. She is also a member of Women Writing the West, North Louisiana StoryTellers and Authors of Romance (served in every board office except treasurer), Coeur de Louisiane, East Texas Chapter of RWA, and Romance Writers of the Texas Plains.

Lenora Nazworth decided she wanted to write in the fourth grade, when the teacher assigned a creative writing project. While the other children moaned and groaned, Lenora went to work and wrote her first story. In 1993, Lenora sold her first book, RIVER'S CALL, to Avalon Books, then went on to sell two more Avalons, THE PRIDE OF DIXIE and DANCE OF THE BUTTERFLY. After she'd written two more longer books for Leisure, Lenora's agent told her about a new line opening up at Silhouette. In 1997, THE WEDDING QUILT became one of the launch books for the Love Inspired line of inspirational romances. Since then, Lenora has written eleven more books for Love Inspired.

THE WEDDING QUILT won Affaire de Couer's Best Inspirational for 1997, and LOGAN'S CHILD won Romantic Times Reviewers Choice for Best Love Inspired in 1998. Her December 1999 release HIS BROTHER'S WIFE has been nominated for RT's Reviewers Choice for Best Love Inspired for 1999.

Currently, she is working on a three book series, IN THE GARDEN, about a brother and two sisters in South Louisiana. The first book of the series, WHEN LOVE CAME TO TOWN, should be released sometime in 2001, with SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL and LACEY'S RETREAT to follow.

Joanne Rock writes contemporary romance for Harlequin Blaze and Temptation. She sold her first manuscript, a Golden Heart winner-- as a result of being a finalist in Harlequin's Blaze contest. Thrilled to have caught an editor's eye, Joanne went on to sell seven more projects, including an online, interactive novel, before her first book hit the shelves.

Active in several RWA chapters, Joanne is a frequent contributor to newsletters with articles on writing. Prior to her career in publishing, she taught writing at the University of Louisville in Kentucky and Dixie College in St. George, Utah. Her work has appeared in trade publications, magazines, newspapers and scholarly journals both national and international. Joanne served as promotions director for a television station in Plattsburgh, NY, and as public relations coordinator for an independent marketing firm in Albany, NY. She graduated with a Master's degree in English from the University of Louisville.

Patti Rowell writes as Patricia Frances Rowell, and yup, that really is her given name. The mother of many, she and her husband, Johnny have between them seven children, a number of children-in-law, and eight grandchildren. They live on thirty-two acres of mixed woodlands in north Louisiana in a home that they built with their own hands. A person who is interested in all sorts of things, Patti has studied subjects ranging from theoretical mathematics to psychotherapy to wedding cakes. Her athletic interests have included such diverse pursuits as ballet and gymnastics, skiing, and SCUBA diving.

Joanna lives with her husband just a few miles from steamy, exciting New Orleans. Her home is the perfect writer's hideaway -- a lazy bayou, complete with graceful egrets, colorful wood ducks (and an occasional alligator) winds just below her back garden.

When not writing, Joanna loves reading, golfing or playing with her grandchildren ... and, of course, researching and plotting out her next novel of intrigue and passion. She also teaches writing classes at a local university and is active in several writing groups.