Susan Wiggs

Last updated
Susan Wiggs
Born (1958-05-17) May 17, 1958 (age 65)
United States
Occupation Novelist
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Harvard University
Period1987–present
Genre Romance
Website
www.susanwiggs.com

Susan Wiggs (born May 17, 1958) [1] [2] is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels.

Contents

Early years

Wiggs began writing as a child, finishing her first novel, A Book About Some Bad Kids, when she was eight. She temporarily abandoned her dream of being a novelist after graduating from Harvard University, instead becoming a math teacher. She continued to read, especially reveling in romance novels. After running out of reading material one evening in 1983, she began writing again, using the working title A Book About Some Bad Adults. [3] [4]

Career

For three years Wiggs continued to write, and in 1987 Zebra Books published her first novel, a Western historical romance named Texas Wildflower. [3] Her subsequent historical and contemporary romances have been set in a wide range of settings and time periods. Many of her novels are set in areas where she's lived or visited. [5] She gave up teaching in 1992 to write full-time, and has since completed an average of two books per year. [6]

In 2000, Wiggs began writing single-title women's fiction stories in addition to historical romance novels. The first, The You I Never Knew, was published in 2001. [6] After writing mass-market original novels for several years, Wiggs made her hardcover debut in 2003 with Home Before Dark. [5]

Many of her novels are connected, allowing Wiggs to revisit established characters. [3]

Her books have been published in many languages, including French, German, Dutch, Latvian, Japanese, Hungarian and Russian. [4]

Awards

Wiggs's books are frequently named finalists for the RITA Award, the highest honor given in the genre. She received the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Romance of the year in 1993 for Lord of the Night. She won a second RITA in 2000 when The Charm School was named "Favorite Book of the Year." She has also won the RITA in 2001 for Best Short Historical for The Mistress. [5] and in 2006 for Lakeside Cottage. She has also been the recipient of the Holt Medallion, the Colorado Award of Excellence, and the Peninsula Romance Writers of America Blue Boa Award. [3] Romantic Times has twice named her a Career Achievement Award winner. [6]

Personal

Wiggs lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington. [6] [7] [8] Her mother maintains her web page. [4]

Bibliography

Stand-alone novels [9] [10]

Lakeshore Chronicles

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1Summer At Willow Lake2006
1.5Homecoming SeasonMore Than Words: Stories of Courage
2The Winter Lodge2007
3Dockside2007
4Snow Fall at Willow LakeSnowstorm Heat Bundle2008
5Fireside2009
6Lakeshore Christmas2009
7The Summer Hideaway2010
8Marrying Daisy Bellamy2011
9Return to Willow Lake2012
10Candlelight ChristmasSnowfall in the City2013
11Starlight of Willow Lake2015

Bella Vista Chronicles

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1The Apple Orchard2013
2The Beekeeper's Ball2014
3The Lost and Found Bookshop2020

Switchback, Vermont

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
0.5The Key Ingredient2016
1Family Tree2016

Calhoun Chronicles

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1The Charm SchoolThe Calhoun Chronicles Bundle1999
2The Horsemaster's DaughterThe Calhoun Chronicles Bundle1999
3Halfway to HeavenThe Calhoun Chronicles Bundle2001
4Enchanted Afternoon2003
5A Summer Affair2003

Us Series

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1The Ocean Between Us2004
2The Story of Us2010

Great Chicago Fire Trilogy

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1The Hostage2000
2The Mistress2000
3The Firebrand2001

Tudor Rose series

#TitleAlso InPublication DateNotes
1At The King's Command1994Circle in the Water

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

2The Maidens Hand1995Vows Made in Wine

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

3At The Queens Summons1996Dancing on Air

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

Women of War series

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1The Lily and the Leopard1991
2The Mistress of Normandy1991
3The Mist and the Magic1993
4The Maiden of Ireland1993

Discovery series

#TitleAlso InPublication Date
1October Wind1994
2Jewel of the Sea1994
3Kingdom of Gold1994

Picture books

Anthologies and collections

Anthology or CollectionContentsPublication DateIn Collaboration

With

Purrfect Romance1995 Jennifer Blake

Robin Lee Hatcher

Irish MagicThe Trysting Hour1995 Barbara Samuel

Roberta Gellis Morgan Llywelyn

This Time...Marriage1996 Muriel Jensen

Janice Kaiser

Irish Magic IIThe Changeling1997 Barbara Samuel

Roberta Gellis Morgan Llywelyn

That Summer PlaceIsland Time1998 Jill Barnett

Debbie Macomber

The 10-Year ReunionHeart of the West

Bachelor Auction #1

1999
Cinderfella / Lady of the NightCinderfella2002 Kate Hoffmann
It Happened One Christmas2003 Julie McBride

Nancy Warren

More Than Words: Volume 32003 Tori Carrington

Karen Harper

Catherine Mann

Kasey Michaels

The Calhoun Chronicles BundleThe Charm School

The Horsemaster's Daughter

Halfway to Heaven

2007
Snowstorm Heat BundleSnowfall at Willow Lake2008 Catherine Mann

Kate Hoffmann

More Than Words: Stories of CourageHomecoming Season2008Sharon Sala

Emilie Richards

Romancing the Holidays Bundle 20092009 Sherryl Woods

Lindsay McKenna

Carole Mortimer

Snowfall in the CityThe St. James Affair

Candlelight Christmas

2019
The Summer It BeginsThe Goodbye Quilt2019 Sheila Roberts

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julia Quinn</span> American historical romance author

Julia Pottinger, better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is a best-selling American author of historical romance fiction. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List 19 times. She has been inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her Bridgerton series of novels has been adapted for Netflix by Shondaland under the title Bridgerton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jayne Ann Krentz</span> American romance novelist

Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle, is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of New York Times bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she only uses three names. Under her married name she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her novels of historical romantic-suspense. She uses her maiden name for futuristic/paranormal romantic-suspense writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nora Roberts</span> American romance writer (b. 1950)

Nora Roberts is an American author of over 225 romance novels. She writes as J. D. Robb,Jill March and Sarah Hardesty.

Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by increasing public awareness of the romance genre." Relevant works must be themed around the development of a romantic relationship between two people, and there must be a happy ending. As well as published authors, those with complete but unpublished manuscripts are eligible for membership.

Emma Holly is American author who specializes in writing erotic romance novels, often with a focus on BDSM. She has written over twenty books and was a finalist for the Romance Writers of America 2004 RITA award for Best Paranormal Romance.

Lisa Kleypas is a best-selling American author of historical and contemporary romance novels. In 1985, she was named Miss Massachusetts 1985 and competed in the Miss America 1986 pageant in Atlantic City.

Patricia Maxwell, born Patricia Anne Ponder on March 9, 1942, near Goldonna, Louisiana, is an American writer. A member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame and the Affaire de Coeur Romance Hall of Fame, Maxwell has received numerous awards for her writing. Her first novel in the romance genre, Love's Wild Desire, became a New York Times Bestseller.

Christina Dodd is the best-selling American author of suspense and regency historical romance. She is a recipient of the RITA Award.

Jill Marie Landis is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Elizabeth Phillips</span> American novelist

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a romance novelist from the United States. She is the creator of the sports romance and has been called the “Queen of Romantic Comedy.”

Mary Jo Putney is a best-selling American author of over twenty-five historical and contemporary romance novels. She has also published romantic fantasy novels as M.J. Putney. Her books are known for their unusual subject matter, including alcoholism, death, and domestic abuse.

Francine Sandra Rivers is an American author of fiction with Christian themes, including inspirational romance novels. Prior to becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Rivers wrote historical romance novels. She is best known for her inspirational novel Redeeming Love, while another novel, The Last Sin Eater, received its own film adaptation released in 2007 by Fox Faith. A film based on Redeeming Love was released on January 21, 2022 through Pinnacle Peak Pictures and Universal Pictures.

Susan Tatum Woodhouse, known by her pseudonym Liz Carlyle, is an American writer of romance novels since 1999, primarily of historical romances.

Nancy Warren is a Canadian writer of contemporary romance and cozy mystery. She received her first publication contract after winning Harlequin's 2000 Summer Blaze contest. Since then, she has released more than 100 novels, novellas, and short stories, has been twice nominated for the Romance Writers of America's RITA Award, and won a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RITA Award</span> Literary award for romance fiction

The RITA Award was the most prominent award for English-language romance fiction from 1990 to 2019. It was presented by the Romance Writers of America (RWA). The purpose of the RITA Award was to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding published novels and novellas. It was named for the RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada. It was not awarded in 2020 and was replaced by the Vivian Award, awarded for the first time in 2021.

Linda Winstead Jones is an American author who has written more than fifty romance books in several subgenres, including Paranormal Romance, Romance, Historical Romance, Fairy Tale Romance, and Romantic Suspense.

Barbara O'Neal is an American romance novelist who has written over forty books under different pen names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherry Thomas</span> American writer

Sherry M. Thomas is an American novelist of young adult fantasy, historical romance, and contemporary romance. She has won multiple awards including the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Historical Romance for Not Quite a Husband in 2010 and His at Night in 2011. Most best-of-romance lists include one of her titles.

Lorraine Heath is an American author of contemporary romance, historical romance, paranormal romance and young adult novels under multiple pen names, including Rachel Hawthorne, J.A. London, and Jade Parker. She is known for her "beautiful, deeply emotional romances" and in 1997, she received the Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Short Historical Romance for her novel Always to Remember. As of June 2015, fifteen of her titles made the USA Today bestseller list.

Jeannie Lin is an author of historical romance novels. Her debut novel Butterfly Swords won the Golden Heart award for Historical fiction from the Romance Writers of America association.

References

  1. Fantastic fiction
  2. Happy birhday Susan Wiggs by Anne Caroline Drake
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rock, Bonnie (February 2002). "Writerspace talks with Romance Author Susan Wiggs". Writerspace. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  4. 1 2 3 Housely, Suzie (June 2002). "Her Pen is Mightier Than A Sword". Beneath the Covers Past. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  5. 1 2 3 "Susan Wiggs – And Now (as usual), Something New". All About Romance Novels. May 25, 2003. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ward, Jean Marie; Teri Smith (2000). "Susan Wiggs: Historical Polish, Organizational Savvy". Crescent Blues. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  7. Bexte, Martina (September 2003). "Interview: Susan Wiggs". BookLoons. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  8. Local authors, Bainbridge Public Library, March 26, 2011, archived from the original on January 19, 2012, retrieved 2012-01-25
  9. "Books by Susan Wiggs". Good Reads. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. "Ottawa Public Library". Ottawa Public Library. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.