Patricia McLinn

Patricia McLinn always wanted to write novels, although she took a detour of practicality into journalism before publishing her first book in 1990. "Covering and editing sports was a terrific training ground for a romance author," Patricia said. "Interviewing trains the writer for true-to-life dialogue and sports can reveal so much about motivation and character."

Cited by reviewers for strong emotion and characterization, her books have topped best-seller lists and garnered awards. She especially enjoys writing connected books, allowing readers to see how characters from past books are getting along after they've found love - because finding love isn't a happy ending at all, but a happy beginning.

Patricia has spoken about writing to groups from Honolulu to Washington, D.C., and Chicago to New Orleans, in addition to being a guest-speaker at the Smithsonian Institute.

In 2002, her books finaled in the Orange Rose, Aspen Gold, Booksellers Best and WriteTouch Readers Award contests. Other honors include Rising Star and Golden Leaf awards and finaling in the RITA, Maggie (twice) and HOLT (four times) contests.

Patricia lives in Northern Virginia in a house that grows piles of paper and dog hair at an alarming rate, and she edits part-time for the Washington Post's news service.