Christina Lauren


About the Author:

Yes, there are two of us! Lauren (on the left) and Christina (on the right).

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced thirteen New York Times bestselling novels. They are published in over 28 languages, have received starred reviews from Kirkus, been selected as one of NPR’s Top 100 Swoon-Worthy Romances, and won both the Seal of Excellence award and Book of the Year from RT Magazine.

Lauren Billings (but everyone calls her Lo) has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and before she made writing her full-time job, would spend her days doing nerdy research-type things wearing a lab coat and goggles. She is silly Mommy to two littles, wife to one mountain biking homebrewing scientist, bestie to a shoe-stealer, and an unabashed lover of YA and romance.

Christina Hobbs (but you’ll always hear Lo call her PQ) used to spend her days in a junior high counseling office surrounded by teenagers. These days you’ll probably find her on tumblr. She is married and absolutely not old enough to be the mom of a 15 year old (right??), thinks she’s the luckiest person in the world to write books with her best friend, and is an unapologetic lover of boy bands and glitter. She also likes to steal Lo’s shoes.


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Chelsea Fine


About the Author:

I didn’t plan to be a writer.

Don’t get me wrong, I dreamed of being a writer, but it was one of those impossible dreams. Like being a rock star, or owning a spaceship. (I’m still working on the spaceship thing. If you have one, let me know. I’m serious.)

I planned be an artist—a painter—because that was a feasible career (and I really loved getting messy which is, like, a prerequisite for all artists). But fortunately, life doesn’t always go according to plan.

It all started with Nancy Drew.

When I was six years-old, while playing hide-and-seek at my grandma’s house, I climbed into a bedroom closet and stumbled upon a collection of Nancy Drew books. And when I say “collection” I mean horde. There were at least forty books in there. (Sure, we couldn’t afford to buy me a Care Bears lunch box, but Nancy Drew hard covers? Mandatory purchase. Whatever.)

Upon finding these blessed books, I was like, “Who is this sleuth girl who comes across a different mystery every single week? I must read more!” Needless to say, I was hooked. (Fun Fact: Ned was my first book boyfriend. My taste in book boys has changed rather dramatically over the years. *coughs* Will Herondale.)

After that, I became a voracious reader but still planned to be an artist. In high school, I was the girl who had her nose in a book and her hands in a bucket of paint.

After high school I went to Arizona State University, where I majored in design and wore more eyeliner and black clothing than a healthy person should. And it was during this epicly emo time in my life that my future took a turn.

I accidentally ended up in a creative writing course during my junior year—and by “accidentally” I mean, I failed to register on time and my adviser said, “You’re not taking college seriously. I’m putting you in creative writing,” like that was some form of punishment.

At first I was like, “Crap. I don’t TELL stories, I read them. Curse you, college adviser! Where the eff is my paintbrush?” But then…THEN…

Then I sat down and wrote my first paper.

And I cried.

Not because it sucked (although…meh) but because writing from the bottom of my heart had stirred something inside me—something starving, that I hadn’t even known was hungry—and I couldn’t stop.

I wrote short stories and comic books and poems and novels…I wrote anything and everything I could pull out of me. All the while I kept painting, even though this hungry thing inside me desperately wanted to be a WRITER.

But being a writer seemed impossible. And scary. And chock-full of potential failures. So instead, I put myself through school as a bank teller (bor-ing) and started my own design business painting murals.

Plan = Right On Track

Years went by—YEARS, people!—and I was still a closet writer. Until one day in 2011, I finally worked up the courage to send a little story of mine (titled Sophie & Carter) to a local publisher.

I told NO ONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD that I did this. No one. It was the single most terrifying (and yet somehow exhilarating) experience of my life. I went home that day and updated my Facebook status to, “Do something brave today,” because that’s how I felt: Brave. I also felt nervous, sick, shaky, foolish, and scared out of my mind. But mostly, I felt brave.

Several weeks later I received a call from the publisher, and a few months after that Sophie & Carter was on the road to being published. *cue sappy music and multicolored confetti*

Plan = Blown To Pieces

I didn’t plan to be a writer, but I dreamed about it. And despite all my planning, my dream came true.

So do something brave today. You never know what might happen…
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Corinne Michaels


About the Author:

Corinne Michaels is the USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author of The Salvation Series (Beloved, Beholden, Consolation, Conviction & Defenseless). She’s an emotional, witty, sarcastic, and fun loving mom of two beautiful children. Corinne is happily married to the man of her dreams and is a former Navy wife. After spending months away from her husband while he was deployed, reading and writing was her escape from the loneliness.

Both her maternal and paternal grandmothers were librarians, which only intensified her love of reading. After years of writing short stories, she couldn’t ignore the call to finish her debut novel, Beloved. Her alpha Navy SEALs are broken, beautiful, and will steal your heart.

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Amy Angel


About the Author:

I was born in Kansas and after a childhood spent bouncing between countries (Iran, Taiwan) and states (Kansas, California, Missouri, Washington, D.C.), I settled in Kansas City, Missouri where I live with my husband and two kids. Before devoting myself full time to motherhood and writing, I was a criminal defense attorney, which is not quite as exciting as it looks on TV. When I have a free moment, I can usually be found reading, running, or shoe shopping.
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Sarah Rees Brennan


About the Author:

Sarah Rees Brennan was born and raised in Ireland by the sea, where her teachers valiantly tried to make her fluent in Irish (she wants you to know it’s not called Gaelic) but she chose to read books under her desk in class instead. The books most often found under her desk were Jane Austen, Margaret Mahy, Anthony Trollope, Robin McKinley and Diana Wynne Jones, and she still loves them all today.

After college she lived briefly in New York and somehow survived in spite of her habit of hitching lifts in fire engines. She began working on The Demon’s Lexicon while doing a Creative Writing MA and library work in Surrey, England. Since then she has returned to Ireland to write and use as a home base for future adventures. Her Irish is still woeful, but she feels the books under the desk were worth it.

Sarah’s latest series is the Lynburn Legacy, beginning with UNSPOKEN, a romantic Gothic mystery about a girl named Kami Glass, who discovers her imaginary friend is a real guy, and one of the mysterious Lynburn family who have returned to the sinister manor on the hill that looms over her town, and who may or may not be involved in dark deeds in the woods. It’s lucky that she’s a sassy girl reporter determined to discover all the secrets that have been kept from her by the town, Jared, and her own family. The trilogy concluded with UNMADE.

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Abbi Glines


About the Author:

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, and Existence series. She has a new YA series coming out in the fall of 2015 titled The Field Party Series . She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.

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Kiera Cass


About the Author:

I am a graduate of Radford University with a B.S. in History. I grew up in South Carolina and currently live in Christiansburg, Virginia with my electrical engineer hubby, car-obsessed son, and princess-loving daughter. I'm a #1 New York Times bestseller, woohoo! I'm also a valued customer at my local cupcake shop.
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Melanie Shawn


About the Author:

NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY bestselling author Melanie Shawn is the writing team of sister duo Melanie and Shawna. Originally from Northern California, they now make their home in So Cal.

Growing up, Melanie constantly had her head in a book and was always working on short stories, manuscripts, plays and poetry. Shawna always loved romance in any form - movie, song or literary. If it was a love story with a happy ending, Shawna was all about it! They have joined forces to create a world where true love and happily ever after always has a sexy twist!
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L.H. Cosway


About the Author:


L.H. Cosway has a BA in English Literature and Greek and Roman Civilisation, and an MA in Postcolonial Literature. She lives in Dublin city. Her inspiration to write comes from music. Her favorite things in life include writing stories, vintage clothing, dark cabaret music, food, musical comedy, and of course, books.

She thinks that imperfect people are the most interesting kind. They tell the best stories.
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Renée Carlino


About the Author:

I’m RenĂ©e Carlino, author of Sweet Thing, Sweet Little Thing, Nowhere But Here, After the Rain, Before We Were Strangers and upcoming SWEAR ON THIS LIFE (August 2016′). I’m a California native currently residing in a beach town in Southern California where I live with my husband, our two boys, and our sweet dog, June. Even though I’ve lived in the small towns of Southern California my whole life, I’ve had a long-standing affair with the big city. New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles are some of my favorite places. I like to place my characters in different settings where I can use the unique qualities of the location to help tell the story.

I started writing creatively as a teenager, first with poetry and short stories, and then finally to the long prose as an adult. I’m obsessed with love stories and the drama and complexities that exist within our intimate relationships. In 2002’ I received a film degree and thought I would see the stories in my head play out on film but something always brought me back to the written word. My time as a seventh grade English teacher helped to reacquaint me with my love of reading and writing and soon I was devoting much of my free time to it.

Music also plays a huge role in my life. I’ve often referred to music as my lifeblood so that’s why I’ve included an ever-changing playlist on my website to share some of the songs that have inspired and evoked emotion in me, especially in my writing. Music is the best food for my creativity, so I love getting new recommendations.

I’ve said before that my first friends were the imaginary kind and in many ways they still are. I love writing these stories and watching my characters grow and I’m grateful to be able to share them with you. I also really love hearing from readers, so please drop by my Facebook page or twitter and say hello.
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Victoria Dahl


About the Author:

Victoria Dahl lives with her family in a small town high in the Utah mountains. During the summer, she hikes and drinks margaritas (usually not at the same time.) During the winter she likes to curl up with a book and a cup of hot cocoa and think about all those poor, freezing skiers working so hard out in the snow.

She’s been reading romance since the age of twelve and started her first manuscript at the tender age of twenty. Occasionally, on dark and stormy nights, she bravely posts excerpts of that original story on her blog for the entertainment of her readers.

Her first published novel won the Golden Heart award. Since then, she's published over twenty-five books and novellas, including three USA Today bestsellers, and several of her books have been nominated for the prestigious RITA® Award for excellence in the romance genre.
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Nora Roberts


About the Author:

Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.

She worked briefly as a legal secretary. “I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever,” she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.

Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.

Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.

Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.

Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.”

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Courtney Milan


About the Author:

Courtney Milan’s debut novel was published in 2010. Since then, her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist. She’s been a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller, a RITA® finalist and an RT Reviewer’s Choice nominee for Best First Historical Romance. Her second book was chosen as a Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2010.

Courtney lives in the Rocky Mountains with her husband, a marginally-trained dog, and an attack cat.

Before she started writing historical romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships with some really important people who are way too dignified to be named here. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
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Ilsa Madden-Mills


About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills writes about strong heroines and sexy alpha males that sometimes you just want to slap.

She's addicted to dystopian books and all things fantasy, including unicorns and sword-wielding females. Other fascinations include frothy coffee beverages, dark chocolate, Instagram, Ian Somerhalder (seriously hot), astronomy (she's a Gemini), Sephora make-up, and tattoos.

She has a degree in English and a Master's in Education.

When she's not pecking away on her computer, she shops for cool magnets, paints old furniture, and eats her weight in sushi.

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Colleen Hoover


About the Author:

Colleen Hoover is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of seven novels and one novella. Hoover's novels fall into the New Adult and Young Adult categories. Hoover published her first novel, Slammed, in January 2012.

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Stephanie Rowe


About the Author:


New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Stephanie Rowe is the author of more than 40 novels, including her popular Order of the Blade and NightHunter paranormal romance series.

Stephanie is a four-time nominee of the RITA® Award, the highest award in romance fiction. She has won many awards for her novels, including the prestigious Golden Heart® Award. She has received coveted starred reviews from Booklist, and Publishers Weekly has called her work "[a] genre-twister that will make readers...rabid for more."

Stephanie also writes a thrilling romantic suspense series set in Alaska. Publisher's Weekly praised the series debut, ICE, as a "thrilling entry into romantic suspense," and Fresh Fiction called ICE an "edgy, sexy and gripping thriller."

Equally as intense and sexy are Stephanie's contemporary romance novels, set in the fictional town of Birch Crossing, Maine.

All of Stephanie’s books, regardless of the genre, deliver the same intense, passionate, and emotional experience that has delighted so many readers.

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Shae Ross


About the Author:

Shae Ross was born and raised in Ferndale, Michigan. After graduating high school, Ms. Ross attended Michigan State University and continued her education at Detroit College of Law. Prior to 2014, she spent the majority of her career practicing corporate law, running a successful business and engaged in entrepreneurial ventures.

After having one too many stressful days at the office, Ms. Ross began to consider pursuing her lifelong dream of writing.

Armed with an English degree, an interest in historical settings and a huge collection of romance novels, Ms. Ross put pen to paper and began converting the characters in her head to ink. She soon found herself happily immersed in a new working world that included heroes and heroines, agents and editors, and a multitude of secondary characters.

Ms. Ross’ debut novel, PRETTY SMART GIRLS – LACE UP released in January of 2015. The second book in the series, PRETTY SMART GIRLS – FEARLESS is set to release in July of 2015. She currently writes in the new adult and contemporary romance genres and lives with her husband and three children in Holt, Michigan.
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Sarah Dessen


About the Author:

Hi. I’m Sarah. Writing a bio is always a little weird, if only because it seems completely self-absorbed. I have a standard one that I send out, which lists where I got my degree, the names of my books, all the same boring basic facts. But for this website, I’m supposed to do something more, give a sense of who I really am. So here goes.

The books I read when I was teenager, the good ones anyway, have stuck more in my mind than anything since. I still love books, but while I couldn’t tell you complete plots of novels I read even six months ago, I do remember even the smallest descriptive details from Lois Lowry’s A Summer to Die or Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. I think it was because back then books were still somewhat new to me, and when I found an author who seemed to say just what I was feeling, it really struck me and resonated. I hope that my books do that for the people who read them: I think it’s the best thing to which any writer can aspire. I’ve also been lucky enough to teach writing and see my students find their own voice. Teaching was great for me, because I got to show people how writing can really change the way you see not only yourself but the world. I’ve found in my own life that if my writing isn’t going well, not much else will. It is the one constant, the key to everything else.

Now that I’m writing full time, I have my good days and bad days. But I’d rather be doing this, even on the worst days, than anything else. As far as my other life, my non-writing life, I live in the country with my husband, my daughter, and two very spoiled dogs. I like to work in my garden—although I have not yet perfected the art of keeping everything alive—-and, in my weaker moments, shop. What else can I tell you? I love Starbucks mochas but they make me way hyper. I subscribe to too many magazines. I make a mean bean salad. I could go on, but the truth is, my books are much more exciting than I am, and that’s a good thing. It’s always more fun to make stuff up anyway.

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Cassie Mae


About the Author:

Cassie Mae (who dons the name Becca Ann on occasion) is the author of a few hundred… okay, maybe not that many… books. Some of which became popular for their quirky titles, characters, and stories. She likes writing about nerds, geeks, the awkward, the fluffy, the short, the shy, the loud, the fun.

Since writing her bestselling debut, Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend, she has published books with Random House, Swoon Romance, and is the founder and lead editor of CookieLynn Publishing. She is represented by Sharon Pelletier at Dystel and Goderich Literary Management. She has a favorite of all her babies, but no, she won’t tell you what it is. (Mainly because it changes depending on the day.)

Along with writing, Cassie likes to binge watch Teen Wolf and The Big Bang Theory. She can quote Harry Potter lines quick as a whip. And she likes kissing her hubby, but only if his facial hair is trimmed. She also likes cheesecake to a very obsessive degree.

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K.L. Grayson


About the Author:

K.L. Grayson resides in a small town outside of St. Louis, MO. She is entertained daily by her extraordinary husband, who will forever inspire every good quality she writes in a man. Her entire life rests in the palms of six dirty little hands, and when the day is over and those pint-sized cherubs have been washed and tucked into bed, you can find her typing away furiously on her computer. She has a love for alpha-males, brownies, reading, tattoos, sunglasses, and happy endings…and not particularly in that order.
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Rachel Gibson


About the Author:

Rachel Gibson is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of fast-paced contemporary romance novels. Publisher’s Weeklyproclaims Rachel’s “clever, snappy dialog amuses at every turn” and “With humor and eloquent prose, Gibson brings substance and depth . . . to modern day romance.”

Four of her novels were named among the Top Ten Favorite Books of The Year by Romance Writers of America. Two of her novels, True Confessions and Not Another Bad Date, were awarded the RITA, Romance Writers of America’s highest honor of excellence. Some of Rachel’s other awards and achievements include The Golden Heart Award, the National Reader’s Choice, Amazon Editor’s Top Pick, Publisher Weekly’s Quill nominee, Borders bestselling romantic comedy and Romantic Time’s Career Achievement award.

When not writing, Rachel can be found shopping for shoes or looking for strange and unusual flowers to plant in her garden.


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Emily Giffin


About the Author:

Emily Giffin, a Chicago native, graduated summa cum laude from Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school, she moved to Manhattan and practiced litigation at a large firm for several years while she paid back her school loans, wrote a novel in her very limited spare time, and dreamed of becoming a writer.

Despite the rejection of her first manuscript, Giffin persisted, retiring from the legal profession and moving to London to pursue her dreams full time. It was there that she began writing Something Borrowed(2004), a story of a young woman who, upon turning thirty, finally learned to take a risk and follow her heart. One year later, Giffin’s own gamble paid off, as she completed her manuscript, landed an agent and signed a two-book deal on both sides of the Atlantic. The following summer, Something Borrowed, hailed as a “heartbreakingly honest debut” with “dead-on dialogue, real-life complexity and genuine warmth,” became a surprise sensation, and Giffin vowed never to practice law again.

Dubbed a “modern day Jane Austen” (Vanity Fair) and a “dependably down-to-earth storyteller” (New York Times), Giffin has since penned six more New York Times bestsellers, Something Blue (2005), Baby Proof (2006), Love the One You’re With (2008), Heart of the Matter (2010), Where We Belong (2012) and The One & Only (2014). Her seven novels, all filled with endearingly flawed characters and emotional complexity, have resonated deeply with both critics and readers around the world, achieving bestseller status in a number of countries, including the United States (#1), Canada (#1), United Kingdom, France, Brazil and Poland (#1). The books have been translated into thirty-one languages, with over eleven million copies sold worldwide. In addition, five of her novels have been optioned for the big screen and are in various stages of development. The first, Something Borrowed, hit theaters in May 2011, starring Kate Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin and John Krasinski.

Giffin now resides with her husband and three young children in Atlanta. Her eighth novel, First Comes Love, will be released on June 28, 2016

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J. Daniels


About the Author:

J. Daniels is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Sweet Addiction series, the Alabama Summer series, and the upcoming Dirty Deeds series.

She would rather bake than cook, she listens to music entirely too loud, and loves writing stories her children will never read. Her husband and children are her greatest loves, with cupcakes coming in at a close second.

J loves to read anything she can get her hands on, but her favorite stories involve alphas with a sweet side.

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Laurelin Paige


About the Author:

USA Today and New York Times Bestselling Author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Adam Levine. She's also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn't do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
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Denise Grover Swank


About the Author:

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank was born in Kansas City, Missouri and lived in the area until she was nineteen. Then she became a nomadic gypsy, living in five cities, four states and ten houses over the course of ten years before she moved back to her roots. She speaks English and smattering of Spanish and Chinese which she learned through an intensive Nick Jr. immersion period. Her hobbies include witty Facebook comments (in own her mind) and dancing in her kitchen with her children. (Quite badly if you believe her offspring.) Hidden talents include the gift of justification and the ability to drink massive amounts of caffeine and still fall asleep within two minutes. Her lack of the sense of smell allows her to perform many unspeakable tasks. She has six children and hasn’t lost her sanity. Or so she leads you to believe.

I’ve always written, since I started my first novel in the fourth grade. I made it to page 70 on my wide ruled spiral notebook before I stopped. I continued to write in high school and attempted several novels in my twenties before life got in the way of writing. I rediscovered my love of writing when I started my blog There’s Always Room for One More. In the fall of 2009, I realized I wasn’t getting any younger and it was now or never, so I participated in NaNoWriMo. I was off and running!
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Samantha Young


About the Author:

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author from Scotland. She's been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Author and Best Romance for her international bestselling novel ON DUBLIN STREET. ON DUBLIN STREET is Samantha's first adult contemporary romance series and has been sold in twenty eight countries.

From the womb, to school geek with geek pride, to irresponsible college student at the University of Edinburgh, to financially stressed responsible college student, to just downright stressed college graduate/taxi dispatcher, to the shortest-lived police administrator in the history of police administration, to fledgling indie writer, to full time author.
That was a terribly long sentence.

I'm a 28 year old contemporary and paranormal romance author with 19 titles to my name so far. I love anything that allows me to be creative which means I love my family a whole heck of a lot. They've put up with my stories, a number of forced bedroom redecorations, singing, artwork, messy art supplies, a failed attempt at learning guitar, whiny emo music, two house moves (and redecoration) that they should have let me get on with myself but are far too nice to have done so, and a level of sarcasm they only have themselves to blame for since they raised me that way ...

As a young girl I never imagined in a million years I'd get to spend my hours day dreaming up stories for myself and other people to enjoy. Much to my delight and amazement there are readers out there who can relate to my dry humour, my mad worlds, and all my heroes and heroines who sometimes do the saving and sometimes just need to be saved. Moreover readers seem to love my home country as much as I do. If I didn't already love my readers for supporting me, I'd love them for loving Scotland. I'm quite attached to the place.

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