For my first post for 2008 I thought I’d repost my Thursday Thirteen about New Zealand authors who write romance. We have some real talent down this end of the world, and I’m really proud of my fellow Romance Writers of New Zealand members.
When I first started writing romance there were three published authors who gave members of Romance Writers of New Zealand real inspiration. They are Robyn Donald, Daphne Clair and Susan Napier. They are all published with Mills & Boon (Harlequin Presents) and at each conference they imparted their knowledge with enthusiasm. They inspired us all. We soaked up their advice on publishing and craft, entered writing contests and helped each other improve. Now, about ten years later we have so many wonderful published writers to emulate. I thought I’d mention a few and would heartily recommend that you check out their books. There’s a reason New Zealand has so many published writers!
1. Fiona Brand. - Fiona was the first who sold and she wrote initially for Silhouette Intimate Moments. She’s now writing thriller/suspense for MIRA.
2. Nalini Singh - I can truly say, “I remember Nalini way back when…” Nalini writes her excellent Psy series for Berkley and gets better with each book. Which reminds me - I must go and annoy her…
3. Tessa Radley - Tessa writes for Silhouette Desire and I’m positive we’ll see her in single title in a year or two.
4. Amanda Ashby - Amanda’s first book, You Had Me at Halo, has recently been nominated in the RT Reviewer’s Choice awards. If you like paranormal with a little humor definitely check out her book.
5. Sara Hantz - Sara’s debut book, The Second Virginity of Suzy Green, is a Young Adult from Flux.
6. Karina Bliss - Karina used to win all the unpublished competitions and it wasn’t a surprise when she sold to Harlequin Superromance.
7. Leda Swann - Leda is a husband and wife team who write hot and spicy romances for Avon Red and Ellora’s Cave.
8. Abby Gaines - Abby also writes for Harlequin Superromance and uses her interest in motor sport to write for Harlequin’s NASCAR line.
9. Helen Kirkman - Helen writes about brooding Vikings for HQN.
10. Emily Gee - Emily’s first book came out in 2007. She writes dark fantasy with a slight romance element.
11. Yvonne Lindsay - Yvonne is another Desire author. Her heroes - delicious!
12. Jan Colley - yet another Silhouette Desire author. There’s a lot of them down this way. In fact check out Diamonds Down Under. Several of the Desire writers from New Zealand and Australia are writing a series.
13. Natalie Anderson - Natalie’s first book released in 2007. She writes for Harlequin Presents new Modern Extra line.
There you have 13 New Zealand romance authors. I should also mention the founder of Romance Writers of New Zealand, Jean Drew who has an Egyptian time travel with Highland Press. We also have several very talented e-published authors, but that’s a post for another day. And of course, there’s me - Shelley Munro.
Have you read a book by a New Zealand author lately?
