"It's all here! A carefully crafted how-to that will take you step-by-step through the process. Leigh Michaels teaches as well as she writes." --Day LeClaire, Harlequin Romance author "Helpful and honest, encouraging and straightforward, this book is like having a bestselling author take time off to tell you how it's done--not how she does it, but how you can."
--Margot Early
Harlequin Superromance author "Leigh Michaels' advice is savvy, no-nonsense, clear, and comprehensive, an excellent resource for both beginning and published writers. It's got a permanent place on my reference shelf."
--Bethany Campbell,
Bantam author "Leigh Michaels' students, who come from all over the country, evaluate her and her classes giving rave reviews. Her warm personality shows through with her willingness to share her knowledge in the field." --Peggy Houston, University of Iowa
Assistant Dean and Director, Iowa Summer Writing Festival
Leigh Michaels is the author of more than 60 contemporary romances for Harlequin Books. More than 27 million copies of her books have been printed worldwide in 650 editions and over 20 languages.
Five of her books have been finalists for Best Traditional Romance novel of the year in the RITA contest sponsored annually by the Romance Writers of America.
Her work has been translated and published in 120 countries in more than 20 languages, including Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Greek, Turkish, Hebrew, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, French, Dutch, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, and Chinese.
She was the guest of honor at an autograph party sponsored by Harlequin's Japanese division for readers who chose her as their favorite author.
She is the author of WRITING THE ROMANCE NOVEL WITH LEIGH MICHAELS, a how-to guide for romance writers, and has produced a series of audio tapes on writing and the romance novel. She teaches an annual seminar on the romance novel at the University of Iowa and has written articles for WRITER'S DIGEST and THE WRITER.
She is the author of DEAR LEIGH MICHAELS... A Novelist Answers the Most-Asked Questions about Getting Published. The book addresses topics such as finding a publisher, contracts, rejection letters, pen names, and how to write query letters.
She has also written a cookbook called A TASTE OF LOVE, featuring her family recipes and stories about how each dish fits into the family's traditions.
She wrote her first romance novel when she was fifteen and burned it, then wrote and burned five more complete manuscripts in the next ten years before submitting to a publisher. Her first submission was accepted and published by Harlequin, the first publisher to look at it. She prefers to write sweet traditional romances, set in Midwestern cities or small towns and emphasizing family values.
A native Iowan, she received a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, after three years of study, while maintaining a 3.93 grade-point average. She received the Robert Bliss Award as top-ranking senior in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and won a national William Randolph Hearst Award for feature-writing as an undergraduate.
Leigh Michaels welcomes mail from readers. Write to her in care of PBL Limited, P.O. Box 935, Ottumwa, Iowa 52501-0935 or email her at leighmichaels@hotmail.com.
