In third grade, she decided that she wanted to become a writer after winning a "Why My Mother is the Greatest" essay contest and seeing her entry published in a major regional newspaper.
Royal began buying books about history, and she became fascinated with that topic as she became a teenager. Among the non-history writers she preferred were Ira Levin and Robert A. Heinlein. When Royal was fourteen, she took a book from her uncle's collection: the book, "Forever Amber," would make a difference in Royal's life, as she became a fan of restoration era romances.
Royal attended the University of California, Irvine, later on transferring to UCLA. She was able to get hands-on experience with professional writing there, as she majored in television and film production. After being told that it was too difficult for a novelist to get published, Royal opened a jewelry store, which she soon moved to a local mall.
For the next fourteen years, she was a dedicated businesswoman, helping her store expand into a chain of seven stores around Southern California. She married and had three children. However, as company owner, she spent many hours reading and writing, which allowed her to practice her writing skills. She wrote employee manuals, company newsletters, newspaper and radio ads, and pretty much anything else the company needed written.
Her small chain of stores was bought by a larger, national chain, and Royal decided to stay home and pursue her childhood dream of becoming a writer. In between watching her children and taking care of the house, she was able to finish her first book, "Amethyst" (in which the heroine was a jeweler—as Royal says, "write what you know!").
"Amethyst" was followed by "Emerald," "Amber," "Forevermore" (her contribution to the anthology published as "In Praise of Younger Men"), "Violet," "Lily," and "Rose," all of which are set in the Restoration era. Then she wrote "Lost in Temptation," "Tempting Juliana," and "The Art of Temptation," which are all set in the Regency era.
She is currently working on young-adult versions of her books with her daughter, Devon, as well as new YA books set in the Renaissance (Elizabethan) era (16th century).
Georgette Heyer was an English novelist and short-story writer, in both the Regency romance and detective fiction genres. Her writing career began in 1921, when she turned a story conceived for her ailing younger brother into the novel The Black Moth. In 1925 Heyer married George Ronald Rougier, a mining engineer. The couple spent several years living in Tanganyika Territory and Macedonia before returning to England in 1929. After her novel These Old Shades became popular despite its release during the General Strike, Heyer determined that publicity was not necessary for good sales. For the rest of her life she refused to grant interviews, telling a friend: "My private life concerns no one but myself and my family."
Kathleen Winsor was an American author. She is best known for her first work, the 1944 historical novel Forever Amber. The novel, racy for its time, became a runaway bestseller even as it drew criticism from some authorities for its depictions of sexuality. She wrote seven other novels, none of which matched the success of her debut.
A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Precursors include authors of literary fiction, such as Samuel Richardson, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.
Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811–1820) or early 19th century. Rather than simply being versions of contemporary romance stories transported to a historical setting, Regency romances are a distinct genre with their own plot and stylistic conventions. These derive not so much from the 19th-century contemporary works of Jane Austen, but rather from Georgette Heyer, who wrote over two dozen novels set in the Regency starting in 1935 until her death in 1974, and from the fiction genre known as the novel of manners. In particular, the more traditional Regencies feature a great deal of intelligent, fast-paced dialogue between the protagonists and very little explicit sex or discussion of sex.
Judith McNaught is a bestselling author of over a dozen historical and contemporary romance novels, with 30 million copies of her works in print. She was also the first female executive producer at a CBS radio station.
The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811 and 1820, when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, later George IV, was instated to be his proxy as prince regent. It was a decade of particular manners and fashions and overlaps with the Napoleonic period in Europe.
Ann Maxwell, also known as A.E. Maxwell and Elizabeth Lowell, is an American writer. She has individually, and with co-author and husband Evan, written more than 50 novels and one non-fiction book. Her novels range from science fiction to historical fiction, and from romance to mystery to suspense.
Jennifer Crusie is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, an author of contemporary romance novels. She has written more than twenty novels, which have been published in 20 countries.
Suzanne Enoch is an American author of best-selling contemporary and historical Regency romance novels.
Penelope Halsall was a best-selling and prolific English writer of over 200 romance novels. She started writing regency romances as Caroline Courtney, and wrote contemporary romances as Penny Jordan and historical romances as Annie Groves. She also wrote novels as Melinda Wright and Lydia Hitchcock. Her books have sold over 70 million copies worldwide and been translated into many languages.
Carla Sue Kelly is an American writer in the Regency romance genre. She is the author of over forty books and short stories. Her books are what romance readers call "keepers," i.e. books they keep in their private collections, and accordingly they can be hard to find. Renowned for what she calls "dukeless" regencies, her stories often revolve around ordinary people solving their own problems. While many Regency romances feature soldiers returned from the Napoleonic Wars, several of Kelly's books include soldiers and sailors actively involved in the Peninsular campaign and in the naval blockade that prevented France from invading England, bringing this war to life in an unforgettable way. However, her regencies only reflect a part of her writing interests. She also has a strong interest in the American West, which is reflected in her earliest published works and in her non-fiction. Since 2011, Kelly, who has a Mormon background, has written four historical romance novels that focus on the lives of young Mormon women: Borrowed Light, Enduring Light, My Loving Vigil Keeping, and Safe Passage.
Brenda Hiatt is an American, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romantic adventure novels, including traditional Regency romance, time travel romance, historical novels, contemporary humorous mystery, and most recently young adult science fiction romance. She has authored and published over 20 such novels in a writing career that started in 1988.
Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century.
Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using print on demand technology. It may also apply to albums, pamphlets, brochures, games, video content, artwork, and zines. Web fiction is also a major medium for self-publishing.
Diane Farr is an American historical romance novelist. She is best known for her Regency romance, published with Signet Regency romances.
Tessa Dare is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling American historical romance novelist. She has authored fifteen novels and novellas and created five different series. In 2012, she won the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA award for Best Regency Historical Romance for her book A Night to Surrender.
Lecia Cornwall is a Canadian author of romantic fiction. Her works have primarily featured the Regency era.
Lord of Scoundrels is a Regency romance novel by American author Loretta Chase. Published in 1995 by Avon Books, it is the third installment of her Débauchés series. Set in 1828, the story follows the Marquess of Dain, an aristocrat known as "Lord Beelzebub" and the "Lord of Scoundrels" for his unscrupulous, immoral behavior. The son of an English father and Italian mother, Dain is hardened due to a difficult childhood and meets his match in Jessica Trent, a 27-year-old bluestocking more than capable of trading wits with him.
Patricia Valeria Bannister, was a writer of historical romance fiction from 1978 until 2002. She wrote under the names Patricia Veryan and Gwyneth Moore.
Jonahmae Panen Pacala also known by her pseudonym as Jonaxx, is a Filipino author, born on 23 January 1991 and hailing from Cagayan de Oro, Philippines. She is currently the most followed Wattpad author worldwide with over 5 million followers and is widely known as the "Wattpad Queen" and "Pop Fiction Queen". Jonaxx is one of the all-time best-selling authors in the Philippines. In 2017, she has published around 150,000 copies of her books and was featured in Yes! magazine. Her best works include Pop Fiction's Mapapansin Kaya?, Every Beast Needs A Beauty, and the Baka Sakali Trilogy— some of which made it to National Book Store's local fiction bestseller list.
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