ABOUT ME
I write the kind of historical romance I love to read—richly emotional stories featuring vibrant, adventurous characters who must confront their fears and break through their limitations before they can find love.
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My tastes in romance were molded by the great writers of the late 1980s and 1990s. Like them, I write long, meaty historical romances that adhere as much as possible to the historical reality of the periods they are set in, which range from the late 1700s to the 1830s.
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My plots grow out of the unique personalities of my heroes and heroines. Sexual attraction plays a large part in motivating all my characters to confront the challenges that await them. So you will find explicit sexual scenes in most of my books, but they are there to illuminate character, not to provide erotic thrills.
My heroines are strong, independent women whose ideal mate is a man whose hunger for adventure matches their own. My dark and dangerous heroes are truly dangerous. My rakes are real rakes who have done things in the past they bitterly regret. My characters are always outsiders, no matter what their rank in society. They struggle to love and it is by surmounting that struggle that they become fully heroic.
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The words that keep cropping up in reader reviews of my novels are “different,” “unusual,” and “original.” Readers also comment on how real my characters feel and how hard my books are to put down. Nothing could please me more. That is exactly what I’m going for every time I sit down to begin a new story.
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I have lived for decades a quiet rural area in Western Massachusetts which preserves a very 19th century feel. Many years ago I earned a graduate degree in History with a focus on 19th century popular culture. I have raised two children who have grown up to become loving, adventurous adults. I have also worked professionally as a singer-songwriter, a software developer, and, under my married names, Janet Ruhl and Jenny Ruhl, have written many helpful nonfiction books, articles, and websites.
If you have enjoyed my novels, I urge you to post a review. Reviews help other readers discover books they might otherwise ignore.