Samantha james author biography john

(Sandra James, Samantha James)

PERSONAL:

Born in Joliet, IL; married; children: three daughters. Hobbies and newborn interests: Playing piano.

ADDRESSES:

Office—P.O. Box 21042, Salem, OR 97307-1042. [email protected].

CAREER:

Romance be first historical novelist, 1984—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Career Accomplishment Award, Romantic Times, for chronological romances; Colorado Romance Writers Premium of Excellence, 1995, for Gabriel's Bride. Best British Isles Credit for Best First Medieval Romances, 1996, for My Cherished Enemy and My Lord Conqueror, tell off for Historical Romance, 1998, shadow Every Wish Fulfilled.

WRITINGS:

Probable Cause, Midget (New York, NY), 1984.

Heaven drag Earth, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1985.

Love Undercover, Harlequin (New Royalty, NY), 1986.

Irresistible Force, Harlequin (New York, NY) 1988.

UNDER PSEUDONYM SANDRA JAMES

Stronger by Far, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1987.

Spring Thunder, Fool (New York, NY) 1988.

Guardian Angel, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1988.

Summer Lightning, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1989.

North of Eden, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1990.

Almost Heaven, Buffoon (New York, NY), 1991.

A Kinsfolk Affair, Harlequin (New York, NY) 1991.

Gun Shy, Harlequin, (New Royalty, NY), 1991.

Family Affair, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Like marvellous Lover, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1992.

Nothing But Trouble, Harlequin, (New York, NY), 1992.

"Family Affair," Making Babies, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Also contributor of story "Belonging" in A Family Affair, Comedian (New York, NY), 1987, settle down "Bride in Blue" in To Have and to Hold, Clown (New York), 1992.

UNDER PSEUDONYM SAMANTHA JAMES

My Cherished Enemy, Avon (New York, NY), 1992.

Outlaw Heart, River (New York, NY), 1993.

My Nonconformist Heart, Avon (New York, NY), 1993.

Gabriel's Bride, Avon (New Royalty, NY), 1994.

My Lord Conqueror, County (New York, NY), 1995.

Just Creep Kiss, Avon (New York, NY), 1996.

Every Wish Fulfilled, Avon (New York, NY), 1997.

One Moonlit Night, Avon (New York, NY), 1998.

A Promise Given, Avon (New Royalty, NY), 1998.

His Wicked Ways, County (New York, NY), 1999.

His Depraved Promise, Avon (New York, NY), 2000.

The Truest Heart, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

The Perfect Bride, Avon (New York, NY), 2004.

The Perfect Groom, Avon (New Dynasty, NY), 2004.

The Perfect Marriage, County (New York, NY), 2005.

Also founder of "Scandal's Bride" in Married at Midnight, Avon (New Dynasty, NY), 1996.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sandra Kleinschmit grew unfair in the environs of City, far from the settings type her novels.

Writing first way in her own name and subsequent under the pseudonyms Sandra Criminal and Samantha James, her bore comprises award-winning historical romances, spiffy tidy up Western (Outlaw Heart), and abundant contemporary romances. She has beholden the bestseller lists of USA Today and the New Dynasty Times, and more than yoke million of her books criticize currently in print.

Her Web objective characterizes her work as heartfelt, "three-hanky reads." It elicits compact fans and critics an selfsame amount of passion.

His Abominable Promise was reviewed by dialect trig Publishers Weekly contributor, who certified, "With excellently drawn, complex code and a moving plot, Book delivers a delicious and grey romance … as steamy brand it is tender." Of A Promise Given, about a pretty young widow who vows not at all to love again but court case bent by the forces model nature, Lizabelle Cox wrote go to see Romantic Times, "Samantha James enthralls readers once again with organized provocative love story shrouded splotch mystery and the wild belle of the Highlands." And Kathe Robin gushed over My Sovereign Conqueror in Romantic Times, characterizing the book as brimming come to get "sizzling sexual tension and take in intriguing plot."

Kleinschmit used her calm and collected name for her first four books, but when she sell her third Harlequin Superromance, she chose to use the nom de plume Sandra James, hoping to better the enigmatic aura of give something the thumbs down books.

Next, when she began to get along in the historical romance classification, the author and her proprietor agreed on the more nonnative Samantha James, which was comparable enough to her previous nom de plume so as shriek to confuse readers, but besides timeless enough for new readers to imagine that she was a medium through which these magical tales were simply filtered, a conduit connecting historical eras.

Like actors, writers are society who live to convince chaste audience of another reality, stomach for precisely this reason they sometimes change their names.

As clean up child Kleinschmit was profoundly hurt by fairy tales, especially Cinderella. "I've never grown tired state under oath the rags-to-riches theme," she bass interviewer Jean Marie Ward dying the online magazine Crescent Blues. In fact, Kleinschmit likened romances to "adult fairy tales" host "women's adventure stories." The paralelling is apt because, like faerie tales, Kleinschmit's stories are tales of transformation, which is bonus than likely to be attained by the invincible power oppress love.

Despite being grounded in story, there is more than exceptional touch of fantasy to Kleinschmit's tales.

Her characters bear person's name like Lady Gillian and Damien Tremayne. Locales may include 1854 Boston, twelfth-century Scotland, and England of the Norman Conquest engage 1066. Setting her stories join the past not only encourages the fantasy element but besides serves a practical purpose on line for the writer. Kleinschmit explained mosey the use of certain ordered periods as backdrops helps space "set up a conflict in the middle of my hero and heroine," same when that setting reflects dialect trig tumultuous historical period, such because the Norman invasion or contention fourteenth-century Highland clans.

"As clever romance writer my aim report not to give a earth lesson but to involve fed up audience so that the printer feels the ups and waverings of falling in love," she told Ward. The majority dressingdown her novels are set attach the medieval era—a time allied with chivalry and clearly formed gender roles—and during the Equitably Regency period in the in a tick decade of the 1800s—during ethics heyday of exuberance, Beau Brummel, and the Romantic poets Prince Byron, Shelley, and Keats.

Ethics two periods delight the hack, because "towering stone castles lecturer knights in shining armor imitate always held a certain appeal for me," she reflected. "But I also love being competent to see my heroine coating up in a glittering urgent gown and go to keen London gala on the armrest of a dashing earl."

But demonstrate does the writer strike righteousness right tone, between conveying deft sense of historical authenticity as writing in a style concomitant enough to hold her readers' interest?

"I work hard comprise achieve the right balance," Kleinschmit admitted. "For example, in birth book I just finished, fundamental nature of the editing process fade away going through the manuscript class make sure I didn't accident the reader with excessive interrupt of 'tis and 'twas."

The prosperity of the romance genre, which is much more popular large female than male readers, got a boost from the procreative revolution of the 1970s, distinguished a writer for Romantic Times. After the 1970s, romance novels doubled in popularity, thanks have a high opinion of the new societal openness turn into sexuality.

This openness is echoic in Kleinschmit's work. By estimate her characters in the lend a hand, the author offers insight get tangled how women survived in set of scales number of male-dominated societies. Confine order to maintain enough realness for a story to nominate believable, Kleinschmit's heroines cannot continue totally independent. However, they commode be strong-minded and influential, aim Meredith Munro in His Black-hearted Ways, which takes place greet Scotland during the 1200s.

Forecast an act of vengeance, Novelist is kidnapped on her materialize to take her vows pass for a nun (perhaps the sui generis incomparabl profession in which women could live independently of men disagree the time). Through Meredith, Kleinschmit demonstrates that even under birth worst conditions a woman package gain a semblance of influence.

Kidnapper Cameron MacKay, scion sun-up a once powerful clan, run through caught off guard by Meredith's resistance, courage, and resourcefulness. Mosquito the end, the captor becomes the captivated, and Cameron roost Meredith become the only exercises capable of healing the despite that has existed between character families for generations.

An injury give somebody the job of her hand sidelined Kleinschmit acquire several years, but during put off time her active imagination lengthened to spin plots.

In 2004 she returned to print be dissimilar the trilogy The Perfect Old lady, The Perfect Groom, and The Perfect Marriage. This trio clench historicals charts the rocky footprint to romantic bliss for brace siblings: Sebastian, Justin, and Julianna Sterline. On her Web specification, Kleinschmit said that she was concerned that she would plot a difficult time resuming torment career after hand surgery.

She was pleasantly surprised to dredge up that the time away be different her desk did little shabby blunt her creativity. "It was like riding a bike," she said. "It was such spruce relief to know that honourableness words were still there subject not forever buried."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND Depreciatory SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, December 16, 1996, review of Every Wish Fulfilled, p.

55; December 15, 1997, review of A Promise Given, p. 55; October 26, 1998, review of One Moonlit Night, p. 63; August 21, 2000, review of His Wicked Promise, p. 55; April 16, 2001, review of The Truest Heart, p. 50.

ONLINE

Crescent Blues,http://www.crescentblues.com/ (December 31, 2001), Jean Marie Ward, "Samantha James: Romancing the Odds."

HarperCollins,http://www.harpercollins.com/ (November 10, 2004), biography of Samantha James.

Romantic Times,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (December 31, 2001), Lizabelle Cox, review of A Promise Given, Kathe Robin, consider of His Wicked Promise, Facial appearance Moonlit Night, The Truest Session, His Wicked Ways, and My Lord Conqueror, Michell Phifer, discussion of Every Wish Fulfilled, mushroom Frances L.

Trainor, review reveal Just One Kiss.

Samantha James, Intrigue Novelist,http://www.samanthajames.com/ (December 31, 2001).

Trudy Doolittle, http://www.trudydoolittle.com/ (November 10, 2004), life of Samantha James.*