FICTION · GENERAL
Beverly Bird
Beverly Bird confesses to having been the prototype of the rebellious teenager. By the age of five — when she tried to rewrite the ending to The Wizard of Oz because it scared her — she knew she would be a writer. Therefore, the high school regimen was obviously not for her, and childhood was just something to get through before she could make her mark on the world. On one memorable occasion, she stood up in chemistry class to inform her teacher that she did not need to understand the subject because in a few years she would be writing for a living anyway. She failed the class, of course. Then, some 20 years later, she had to face the teacher at a reunion and admit that when she had to research DNA for a recent book she still had no clue what it was about! Since words are meant to be read and not eaten, she turned seriously to writing when she was 22. The stars aligned for a time — she was single and her rent was astronomically low because she looked after the elderly lady who owned the building. She'd just gotten laid off from an advertising job with a newspaper due to budget cuts and therefore had an unemployment check coming in weekly. She decided that it was now or never — and Emeralds in the Dark was born, published by Silhouette to launch the Intimate Moments line in 1983. Since then, she has published 20 books with Silhouette as well as several romantic suspense and historical novels. She prefers strong heroines with hidden soft spots and a penchant for getting themselves into trouble, figuring that she has had some experience herself in that area. Though she has lived in several places in the United States, she returned to her roots to live on a barrier island off the coast of New Jersey with her son and a Chihuahua named Taco, where periodically she risks running into that chemistry teacher. But these days, she is much less rebellious and tends to tuck tail and run when she encounters someone she probably ticked off 25 years ago! She loves to hear from readers but admits that she is seriously negligent about actually traveling to the post office and snail-mailing her replies. She asks that anyone who would like to contact her please do so via email at Bvrlye@aol.com
As they would murmur at his funeral, Dr. M. Bruce Fleckstein was one of the finest periodontists on Long Island.
— from Compromising positions
Most acclaimed
Out of Nowhere
She wasn't welcome! Emma Shaw had escaped an uncomfortable situation by fleeing to Credlestone Hall, her uncle's isolated home in Dartmoor. But when she arrived late one foggy night, her uncle wasn't there. Another man was. A man named Jake Garrani. Jake, it turned out, was a friend of her uncle's and a well-known artist. He was living at the house because he needed a quiet place to work, and he didn't want Emma "hanging around," disrupting his concentration. If she stayed, she'd have to pose for him.... It was the last thing the shy and emotionally battered Emma wanted to do. But she refused to be scared off by this ... this tyrant. And she refused to give in to the attraction that sprang up between them. An unwanted attraction -- no matter how exciting, how compelling, it might feel!
Compromising positions
A very intimate battleground Amelia Sheffield arrives in the sleepy town of Millhaven, New York, to collect what was promised her for a museum exhibit: an antique bed that George Washington once slept in. The problem is one incredibly infuriating -- and incredibly sexy -- innkeeper who insists the bed belongs to him. Of course, Sam Blackstone has no idea how dirty Amelia is willing to play this game… Sam is furious -- and intrigued -- when he learns that Amelia plans on sleeping in the bed until it's hers. But he can be just as stubborn as her. After all, that bed could keep his family's inn from closing. Which means he'll sleep in the bed, too. And if she wants to play dirty, he's right there with her!