Dear Friends: 

I think if there is one thing you should know about me, it is that I am a reader, first and foremost. I never dreamed of being a writer from an early age. I never planned to pursue this avenue, even in college, even after marriage. I was and always have been, though, an avid romance reader and fan of the genre.   

My grandmother was a teacher and my father grew up reading. So, when I was born one cold February night in Idaho, it was natural that I would sit in his lap, night after night and be read to. My favorite book was Heidi by Johanna Spyri. The rocking chair we always sat in became known as the “Heidi chair.” The chair has long since broken down and been relegated to the basement. In honor of those many nights reading, my Dad took the chair apart, salvaged the wood, and made a jewelry box from the pieces. It sits next to my ‘to be read’ pile and holds my bookmarks. 

I remember the first moment I became excited about reading for myself -- 4th grade – Nancy Drew. The Bungalow Mystery was handed to me by my 4th grade teacher to inspire me to read more on my own. It succeeded. Secret of the Diary, The Mystery of the 99 steps, The Ringmaster’s Secret – those were all on my shelf. The library and I made friends and I was never without a pile of books by the bed. I like to think of it as my first ‘to be read’ pile!

In high school I discovered Harlequin Presents and Harlequin Romance and began to read those by the dozens. My group of friends passed around Kathleen Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, and Barbara Cartland. College in Washington state and a degree in business administration left little time for reading, then on to working full-time where I met my husband. I lost touch with reading and the library.

It wasn’t until I married, had three kids in quick succession, and quit my job to stay home that I discovered the romance market had bloomed. Silhouette, Loveswepts, and Harlequin Super Romances flooded the market. My sister, thirteen years my senior, decided about that time to unload her library and gave me seven boxes filled with romances – historicals and categories – many still on my shelves today. I don’t know if you can adequately describe heaven, but that was pretty darn close.   In a desire to pass on the love of reading my grandmother gave my father, who then gave it to me, I renewed my acquaintance with the public library to read to my children and discovered anew how much pleasure a good romance brought to my day.

My journey to becoming a writer isn’t unique. One day, trapped inside by dreary weather and three toddlers, I read a book politely termed “a wallbanger.” While the story was less than sensational, it sparked my determination to write, to produce something worthy of the hours my reader would spend with her nose in my books.

I proudly claim the title “Army Wife” and through assignments, deployments, and moving, books have been my best companions. My favorite authors – Suzanne Brockmann, Cindy Gerrard, Linda Howard, Merline Lovelace, Elizabeth Lowell, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and Lora Leigh—have soothed worries, loneliness, challenges, and a tired spirit. Exploring each town for libraries and bookstores became a tradition at each new home. Our current home, Arlington, Texas, has been the most accommodating of my reading and writing habits. There is nothing like a big city to give you dozens of bookstores to haunt, balm for the soul!

By now you’re probably wondering where this is going. I tell you all this so you will know that when I write my stories for you, I do so with the utmost respect for your need to read a satisfying story, because it matches my own.

Best always,
Patti Ann