I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, but have spent most of my life living on the West coast--California, Washington, Arizona and Oregon.

I've always been a fan of fairy tales and "happily ever afters", but I'd never read a category romance until my senior year of high school when my A.P. English teacher, Mrs. Cooper, had the class study genre fiction. She assigned each of us a Harlequin Romance to read. Mine was set in the Canary Islands and I couldn't wait to read another one. And another and another. I was hooked. Needless to say, I owe Penny Cooper a debt of gratitude. And yes, we do keep in touch!

After graduating from Stanford University with a degree in mechanical engineering, I worked for Allied Signal analyzing engine performance in Phoenix, Arizona, and my love of romance novels continued to grow. One day, I decided to write a romance of my own. Easier said than done I quickly learned, but I discovered the Desert Rose Chapter of Romance Writers of America and realized how little I knew about writing romances.

After three years in Phoenix (Tempe, actually), I began to hate the Arizona summers. Who cares if it's a dry heat? Anything over a hundred and ten is still hot. So I took at job at United Airlines in San Francisco. I was still analyzing jet engine performance, but now I had travel benefits. I spent five years traveling the globe. My love for writing romances also grew.

Writing became a passion, and the few hours spent at the computer during lunchtime and in the evenings weren't nearly enough. With lots of prodding and support from my husband of six months whom I met working at UAL, I decided to follow my dream and write full-time.

It was a good decision. My first full-time effort, FIANCE FOR THE NIGHT, was also my first sale to Silhouette Yours Truly. When I got the call that Silhouette was buying my book, I was pregnant with my first child. I was jumping up and down so much, my husband was afraid I was going to go into labor.

I moved to the Silhouette Romance line with my second sale, IF THE RING FITS. My daughter was three months old at the time and I was so tired I barely remember the phone conversation with my editor. Thank goodness my husband was home once again when the telephone rang or I might have thought I dreamed the second sale!

I sold my third book, THE WEDDING LULLABY, when I was pregnant with my second child and got an agent, too. I started hoping being pregnant wasn't a trend or a requirement for future sales. It wasn't even though we now have three children.

With the closing of the Silhouette Romance line, I was moved from the New York editorial office to the Harlequin Mills & Boon editorial office in London in May 2005.

I live in Washington with my real-life hero husband, two daughters, a son, two lovable, but oh-so spoiled indoor cats and a no-longer stray outdoor kitty that came with our old house in Lake Oswego, Oregon and made the move across the Columbia River with us.

When I'm not writing or being a mom, I love to curl up on the couch with a cup of tea, my cats and a good book. This doesn't happen much right now, but someday....