The first romance novel I read was either The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss (borrowed from my father's book shelves) or These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer (discovered on the library shelves). Both instilled a love of historical romance from which I have never recovered—and nor do I wish to recover. For a while I read them veraciously, alternating with adventure stories and detective novels. Then I drifted away from romance novels and wondered I was reading less and less.
Fortunately, I was lucky enough to stumble across the novels of Anne Gracie and one chapter was enough to explain what I was missing—the derring-do, the love, the passion and the escapism. The kind of books that make the world look like a better place. Now I read voraciously again although these days I read across the many sub-genres of romance, including contemporary, rural romance, small town, cowboy, paranormal and many others.
When I am not reading or writing, I work as a book publicist and freelance editor. I am a member of the Romance Writers of Australia (RWA), Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA), Editors NSW and The Institute for Professional Editors (IPEd).
