Announcing Undone Historical E-Book Authors

We are fortunate to have with us tomorrow on Oct. 31st, the 4 authors launching Harlequin Historicals Undone E-Book Line. This is a fantastic new venture by Harlequin to address the growing demand for new formats of writing by our newer and more technological readers out there.

These authors have done a great deal of work in their own field and want to share some of their thoughts with each of you dealing with topics such as creating dark moments, dark characters and dark decisions (great Halloween theme, huh?). If you want the advice from some of romances great authors, this is a place to be. They are here to chat so make sure to ask them a TON of questions!

Let me introduce them...

Nicola Cornick - For the first 18 years of her life Nicola lived in Yorkshire, within a stone’s throw of the moors that had inspired the Brontë sisters to write Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. One of her grandfathers was a poet, and her family contained teachers and avid readers who filled the house with books. With such a background it was impossible for Nicola not to become a bookworm.
Nicola went to school in a historic building that had originally been the dower house of a stately home. It was the sort of school that taught girls how to find a rich husband and how to get in and out of a Rolls-Royce gracefully.
Unfortunately Nicola did not pay enough attention to the bit about the rich husband and has therefore never had the chance to practice the bit with the Rolls- Royce. She was too busy reading. It was also at school that Nicola developed her love of history, English literature, and French, due to some truly inspirational teachers.
Meanwhile, Nicola spent her evenings reading piles of romances and historical novels and watching costume dramas with her grandmother. Her grandparents were very influential to her and also taught her canasta, ballroom dancing, and how to grow rhubarb, all of which she is determined to incorporate in a historical romance one day.
At 18 Nicola went south to study history at London University and during her holidays did a variety of jobs, from sticking price tags on shoes in a factory to serving refreshments on a steam railway. When she left college she had to settle for something far less interesting in order to earn a living and worked as an administrator in a number of different universities. She moved to Somerset and lived for seven years in a cottage haunted by the ghost of a cavalier.
Nicola met her future husband while she was at university, although it took her four years to realize that he was special and more than just a friend. Her husband, being so much more perceptive, had worked this out much sooner but eventually an understanding was reached.
This lack of perception also meant that Nicola did not realize for years that she was meant to be a writer. She wrote bits and pieces of novels in her spare time but never finished any of them. Eventually, she sent in the first three chapters of a Regency romance to Mills and Boon and, although they were rejected, she found she had become so addicted to writing that she could not stop. Happily, her third attempt was accepted and she has never looked back.
Nicola loves to hear from her readers and can be contacted by email at ncornick@madasafish.com or via her web site, http://members.madasafish.com/~ncornick/.

Amanda McCabe - Amanda McCabe wrote her first romance novel at the age of sixteen—a vast epic starring her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class.
She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA Award, the Romantic Times Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readers Choice Award and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma with a menagerie of two cats, a pug and a bossy miniature poodle. She loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs and watching the Food Network—even though she doesn’t cook. Visit her at http://ammandamccabe.tripod.com/


Bronwyn Scott - Bronwyn Scott is a pen name for Nikki Poppen. Nikki lives in the Pacific Northwestern United States, where she is a communications instructor at a small college. She enjoys playing the piano and hanging out with her three children. She definitely does not enjoy cooking or laundry—she leaves that to her husband, who teaches early morning and late evening classes at the college so he can spend the day being a stay-at-home daddy.
Nikki remembers writing all her life. She started attending young-author conferences held by the school district when she was in fourth grade and is still proud of her first completed novel in sixth grade, a medieval adventure that her mom typed for her on a Smith-Corona electric typewriter! She has since moved on to RWA conferences and a computer. She loves history and research and is always looking forward to the next story. She also enjoys talking with other writers and readers about books they like and the writing process. She’d love to hear from you! Check out her Harlequin Mills and Boon links and her personal Web page - http://www.bronwynnscott.com/ or http://www.nikkipoppen.com/

Michelle Willingham - Michelle Willingham wrote her first historical romance at the age of twelve and was delighted to fill up eight pages of a legal pad. As her binders of stories grew, she was convinced that one day she would achieve her dream of being an author. Thankfully most of her early stories have been destroyed and are unavailable for blackmail.
She attended the University of Notre Dame where she thought about studying medicine. Since Michelle passes out at the sight of blood, she decided this was not a good career move. She studied English instead and graduated summa cum laude with the idea of becoming an editor. Her first part-time job involved editing mortgage handbooks, which sent her fleeing back to graduate school for a degree in middle-school education. Michelle enjoys teaching hormonally charged sixth graders who ask her fascinating questions such as, "Your hair looks weird. Did you dye it?"
She married a rocket scientist, and they live in southeastern Virginia with their children. When she isn't writing historical romances, she loves to cook, read and avoid exercise at all costs. Visit her Web site at www.michellewillingham.com, or e-mail her at michelle@michellewillingham.com.