Author Sightings | Members Websites
Carolyne Aarsen | Donna Alward | Vivi Anna | Michelle Beattie
Jade Buchanan | CJ Carmichael | Cara Colter | Barbara Dunlop
Linda Ford | J.E. MacLeod | Pamela YayeReleases:
September 2006 from Warner Faith THE ONLY BEST PLACE
November 2006 from Love Inspired A FAMILY-STYLE CHRISTMAS
August 2007 from Warner Faith ALL IN ONE PLACE
November 2007 from Love Inspired YULETIDE HOMECOMING
Though she had always been making up stories, Carolyne didn't actually start writing them down until friends in school asked if she would do custom romances starring themselves and their crush de jour. Marriage and kids put the writing on hold until the children got old enough to feed themselves and the husband.
She started off small — a 400 word weekly humor column that ran in a number of Northern Alberta newspapers for about nine years. Her first romance was written by taking a correspondence course between taking care of five kids and feeble attempts at housekeeping. In 1997 after working on her book for about five years, she sold to the newly created Love Inspired. Since then she has twelve published novels behind her, four kids out of the house and a husband who is used to seeing her staring off into space while she struggles with yet another story.
Click here to visit Carolyne's website.Donna Alward
Releases:
September 2006 from Samhain Publishing THE GIRL MOST LIKELY (e-book)
January 2007 from Samhain Publishing THE GIRL MOST LIKELY (print)
January 2007 from Samhain Publishing ALMOST A FAMILY (e-book)
May 2007 from from Harlequin Romance HIRED BY THE COWBOY
July 2007 from Samhain Publishing ALMOST A FAMILY (print)
September 2007 from Harlequin Romance MARRIAGE AT CIRCLE M
March 2008 from Harlequin Romance THE SOLDIER'S HOMECOMING
August 2008 from Harlequin Romance FALLING FOR MR DARK AND DANGEROUS
January 2009 from Harlequin Romance THE RANCHER'S RUNAWAY PRINCESS
Donna Alward can’t remember a time when she didn’t love books. When her mother would take her to town, her “treat” was not clothes or candy but a trip to the bookstore. This followed through university, as she studied English Literature, writing short stories and poetry, but never attempting full-length fiction.
In 2001 her sister told her to just get out there and do it, and after completing her first manuscript she was hooked. She lives in Alberta, Canada, with her husband and children, and when not writing is involved in music and volunteering at her children’s school.
Click here to find out more about Donna and her latest releases.
Vivi Anna
Releases:
March 2006 from Kensington SEXY BEAST (anthology)
April 2006 from Kensington HELL KAT
November 2006 from Aphrodisia INFERNO
March 2007 from Silhouette Nocturne BLOOD SECRETS
March 2007 from Avon ALLURING TALES (anthology)
October 2007 from Silhouette Nocturne DARK LIES
October, 2008 from Silhouette Nocturne VEILED TRUTH!
Tawny always dreamed of being a writer, but didn't start toward that endeavor until 2000 when she took a correspondence course and her tutor/mentor told her that she was gifted. She wrote a short story and sold it within weeks. After that, everything just fell into place. She continued to write short stories and then novellas. She sold all of them to various anthologies and then discovered the ebook industry. From there, she epublished five novellas and two novels in a year. Finding some moderate success in the erotic/romance industry, Tawny then took the next step and signed with an agent. He in turn got her a three-book deal with Kensington Books within a week.
Born and raised in Calgary, Tawny is hard at work on her next book, and is bugging her agent to get her another three-book deal.
Click here to visit Tawny's website.
Michelle Beattie
Releases:
December 2008 from Berkley Publishing WHAT A PIRATE DESIRES
Michelle Beattie began her writing with poetry, and wrote several which included 'in memoriams' for her brother who died when she was 14. In wasn't until after high school that she began reading romances and found she loved westerns. Then the bug to write bit her and she's never looked back.
It took three completed manuscripts, two contest wins and several placings with her work until she got 'The Call' from New York. A day that will forever be etched in her mind. Since the first book, 'What a Pirate Desires' has sold, she's accepted a contract for 2 more, making 'What a Pirate Desires' book one of a series.
Michelle is currently building a new sustainable house with her husband and hopes to move into her dream home in summer of 2008 with her family, which includes said husband, two daughters and a rabbit.
Click here to find out more about Michelle and her latest releases.
Jade Buchanan
Releases:
April 2008 from Changeling Press THE PRIDELANDS 3: SHEER'S CHOICE
May 2008 (print) from Samhain Publishing TEMPERATURE'S RISING
July 2008 from Changeling Press SPACEPORT: MARKED
August 2008 from Changeling Press THE PRIDELANDS 4: GRIFFIN'S JOY
November 2008 from Changeling Press THE PRIDELANDS 5: KHALID'S CHALLENGE
Jade’s real life counterpart is a Safety Management Consultant trying to find balance between work, writing and grad school. Her first story started as a dare and was quickly followed by a second... and a third. Two months after picking up her fictional pen, she sold her first erotic romance novella writing as Jade Buchanan. Accused on numerous occasions of having a quirky sense of humour, she gets a definite kick out of taking ideas from her friends and family and twisting them into plot points. Living in Calgary, she’s originally from Northern Ontario, has lived in British Columbia and spent two years living in Oman in the Middle East.
Having an admitted short attention span, Jade prefers to experiment with short stories and novella's and loves the freedom that e-publishing gives her. She’s a firm believer that love and romance are universal concepts, no matter a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
Click here to find out more about Jade and her latest releases.
C. J. CarmichaelReleases:
June 2006 from Silhouette Signature Select YOU MADE ME LOVE YOU
July 2006 from Harlequin Superromance A BABY BETWEEN THEM
July 2006 from Silhouette A LITTLE SECRET BETWEEN FRIENDS
September 2006 from Harlequin HER BETTER HALF
October 2006 from Harlequin Superromance SECRETS BETWEEN THEM
February 2007 from Harlequin Superromance LOVE AND THE SINGLE MOM
July 2007 from Harlequin Superromance STAR CROSSED PARENTS
February 2008 from Harlequin Superromance THE DAD NEXT DOOR !
Short years ago C.J. Carmichael was a chartered accountant who wrote romances in her spare time. Her dream was to become published, but it took six rejected manuscripts, and about ten years, before she picked up the phone and found herself speaking to a Harlequin editor.
After that first sale, more success followed quickly. She sold two of her previously submitted novels and signed a contract for two new books.
C.J. is a member of the Alberta Romance Writer's Association, the Peninsula Chapter of RWA, Canadian Romance Authors Network and Romance Writer's of America. Carla lives in Calgary, Alberta, where she and her husband Michael, and their daughters Lorelle and Tessa, enjoy hiking and skiing in the Rocky Mountains.
Click here to visit C.J.'s website. And while you're there, check out her Calendar Events page.Releases:
December 2006 from Silhouette A VOW TO KEEP
March 2007 from Silhouette Romance THE PRINCE AND THE NANNY
April 2007 (harcover) from Thorndike Press LOVE'S NINE LIVES
October 2007 (paperback) from Silhouette Romance THEIR CHRISTMAS WISH COME TRUE
February 2008 from Silhouette Romance THE PLAYBOY'S PLAIN JANE !
A born-and-raised Calgary girl, Cara Colter now makes her home on a small acreage in British Columbia with her partner, Rob. Their three children are adults, so they share life with eight horses and the cat who was the inspiration for Conan in the Silhouette Romance Love’s Nine Lives.
Cara has been making her living with words since graduating from the SAIT Journalism program in 1902. (Kidding!) She has been a writer-for-hire on educational materials, newspaper stories, magazine articles, and even sermons. Her heart found its home when she discovered writing romance and she has written more than forty novels for two publishers. This year Silhouette will honor her with their Milestone Award commemorating 25 books.
For a peek into Cara’s life, and to meet some of the characters she shares it with, visit her at www.cara-colter.com.
Barbara Dunlop
Releases:
March 2007 from Harlequin A SECRET LIFE
April 2007 from Silhouette Desire THE BILLIONAIRE'S BIDDING
November 2007, Silhouette Desire, THE BILLIONAIRE WHO BOUGHT CHRISTMAS
February 2008, , Silhouette Desire, BILLIONAIRE VALENTINE
June 2008, Harlequin NASCAR, LUCKY DOG RULE
September 2008, Silhouette Desire, DYNASTY Park Avenue Series
October 2008, Harlequin Special Release, MILLIONS TO SPARE
March 2009, Silhouette Desire, TRANSFORMED INTO THE FRENCHMAN’S MISTRESS, The Hudsons of Beverly Hill!
Barbara Dunlop penned—well pencilled, actually—her first major work of fiction at the age of eight. It was entitled How The Giraffe Got His Long Neck and was released to rave reviews. Unfortunately, the print run of one copy hindered distribution. But the experience whet her appetite for celebrity and acclaim.
Click here to find out more about Barbara and her latest releases.
Linda Ford
Releases:
June 2005 from Barbour Publishing ALBERTA BRIDES
July 2005 from Thorndike Press PRAIRIE BRIDES
August 2007 from Heartsong Presents EVERLASTING LOVE
December 2007 from Heartsong Presents THE DREAMS OF HANNAH WILLIAMS.
Linda lives on a farm near Olds, AB. She shares her home with her husband of over 30 years, a shifting number of adult children, and her client—a paraplegic man for whom she provides care, also a yappie parrot, and on occasion, dogs she reluctantly babysits for her children.
Linda and her husband raised a family of fifteen—a combination of adopted and homemade children, which has given her much fodder for her books.
Before she moved to Olds with her family, she lived on a ranch in eastern dryland Alberta where she gained invaluable experience with farming, prairies, cowboys, and kids—themes that are repeated often in her books.
Linda (aka as the world's slowest learner) has been writing a number of years. Besides her inspirational novels, she has been published in newspapers, magazines and has a non-fiction book to her credit.J.E. MacLeod
Releases:
TBA from Westside Books, WAITING TO SCORE
J.E. doesn’t often take the road most often traveled. She prefers getting sidetracked and mucky and dirty and really experiencing the trip. It’s one of the reasons it took her so long to realize that writing YA books was what she loved to do.
Books were always special though, and as much as she loved reading, she loved writing. After high school, J.E. took a journalism/advertising diploma and wrote advertising for radio and TV. Apparently it didn’t pay so well, so J.E. went back to school and eventually started working in marketing and sales.
After having a child J.E. found her way back to writing and eventually she realized a dream and wrote her first book. It was pretty bad. The bug had bitten though and J.E. kept writing and collecting rejections and learning the craft of writing fiction. She found CARWA and fellow romance writers, and eventually had an idea for a Young Adult novel.
J.E. continues to write gritty realistic YA, but her stories always have a strong element of romance. J.E.’s first YA, Waiting To Score, was selected to launch a new Young Adult fiction imprint from a successful New York publishing firm. She hopes to publish many more Young Adult books and remember the fun and the horror of teenage love.
Click here to visit J.E. MacLeod's website.
Pamela Yaye
Releases:
April 1, 2007 from Harlequin’s Kimani Press OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS
October 2007 from Harlequin’s Kimani Press THE PROBLEM WITH LUV
May 2008 from Harlequin's Kimani Press HER KIND OF MAN
November 2008 from Harlequin's Kimani Press A LOVE T.K.O.
Pamela got her big “break” when she was fourteen-years-old. She read the first poem she ever wrote at her local church and got a standing ovation. Reading her poetry and seeing her plays come to life on stage proved to the young teen that she had a God-given talent for the written word.
Her first novella was written while teaching overseas in South Korea and upon the advice of a good friend and colleague, Pamela transformed OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSINESS into a full-length novel.
Two years and thirty rejection letters later, Pamela signed with super-agent Sha-Shana Crichton from Crichton and Associates. Six weeks later she had a two-book deal contract with Harlequin’s African-American Romance line, Kimani Books.
An avid traveler, Pamela now makes her home in Calgary with her handsome husband, Jean-Claude and her adorable daughter, Aysiah. Being a wife and mother is a full-time job, but Pamela is hard at work on her next book. She can be reached at pamelayaye@aol.com. Click here to visit her website.
