Ruth Jean Dale
Personal Information
Description
Betty Lee Duran was born on 1942 in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, U.S.A. She was the first of four children, and lived there for her first 12 years, at which point, her father went to work for a construction company building highways all over the U.S.A. As a child of ten or eleven, Betty Lee began writing her first book, a sequel of "Black Stallion" by Walter Farley, her very favorite. Fortunately for the young author, she was completely unaware of the law regarding plagiarism. She attended seven schools in three states during the seventh grade alone. By the time she graduated from high school, she'd also lived or attended school in South Dakota, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, and New Jersey. She obtained her Journalism Major in a college in Missouri. Betty Lee also spend a stint in the U.S. Navy, where she met her husband, a U.S. Marine. She settled down to life as a wife and mother of four daughters in Illinois, California, and Texas. Eventually she went to work as a newspaper reporter; upon retirement from the Corps, her husband became a reporter for the same California daily. Just before Thanksgiving 1984, she was felled by a brain aneurysm which resulted in three brain surgeries, two weeks in a coma, four weeks in Intensive Care, and a recovery so complete that her surgeon called it "a miracle." From this experience she learned, among other things, that a bad hair day is preferable to a no-hair day. Yes, her hair eventually did grow back. On July 8, 1988, a day she'll never forget, Betty Lee sold her first romance novel to Harlequin as Ruth Jean Dale. More sales followed and the next year she quit her day job as editor of two weekly newspapers to fulfill a lifelong dream of writing full-time. Ruth Jean Dale's books have been translated in many foreign languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Greek, Polish, and soon--Russian and Chinese. She's made frequent appearances on romance best seller lists, and was nominated a "Top Ten Favorite Author" by Affaire de Coeur magazine. Betty Lee met Margaret Brownley when they both ran for the same office of a national writers organization. Though they totally disagree on who won and who lost, they decided to collaborate in a mini-series which feature the same characters. Their friendship has since survived an earthquake, rising floodwaters, family tragedies, beauty makeovers, and a panicky trip through a snowstorm to reach a daughter about to go into labor. They also wrote and sold a two-year story projection for their favorite CBS soap. It seemed only natural that they write a book together, "Spittin' Image", a mystery that turned out to be almost as funny and sexy as they are. Not even living in two different states can cramp their style. They simply send chapters back and forth via e-mail (and have learned to make "Your last chapter stinks" sound like "You've just won the Pulitzer"). Though they seldom come to blows over story lines, they have been known to disagree (loudly) over a dead body or two. In the early '90s, she and her husband moved from Southern California to a pine forest north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they live today with one dog and three cats. In addition to writing romance novels, she teaches occasional fiction classes and volunteers at local senior centers to lead workshops on "Writing Your Life Story." In her spare time, she can be found in her sewing and craft room. With sewing machine and serger, she turns out not only clothing but strange and exotic items such as embroidered toilet paper and photos printed on fabric, which she cheerfully foists off on friends and acquaintances. Grandmother of eight, in 2001, she retired "temporaly" after her husband suffered from a stroke. After his death in 2008, she returned to writing under.
Books
Trading Places
Atlanta police detective Aggie Jade is still recovering from the raid that took the life of her partner and former boyfriend – and nearly killed her and her beloved K-9. She's not ready to hit the streets again, but she's desperate to hunt down the cop killers who shattered her world. That's when she asks her identical twin sister, a wild-child Vegas gambler, to trade places with her....
Bachelor Available (Texas Grooms Wanted)
Name: Cody James Age: 30 Occupation: Rancher Looking for: A wife and mother for my children The Yellow Rose Matchmakers claimed to be able to match any woman with her Mr. Right. And Emily couldn't deny that the man she'd been matched with, Cody James, sounded perfect--on paper, at least. The reality was even better--the tall, sexy cowboy took Emily Kirkwood's breath away. Too bad that Emily hadn't joined the Yellow Rose to find a man but to write a Valentine's story on... well... how to get a man. Only, Cody was available... and perhaps what this story needed was a little in-depth research! Texas Grooms Wanted! Only cowboys need apply!
Dash To The Altar (Whirlwind Weddings)
Ready, Steady, Married! Can Dara Linnell marry a complete stranger? In a word, yes! She needs a husband to get away from her bossy, manipulative grandfather. And Zane is perfect for the job - he's young, free and single. So what if she's known him only a couple of hours? She knows it's the right thing to do. She may not love her handsome cowboy now, but she's totally convinced that she will, once she's learned a few little details like where Zane's from, what his middle name is - minor stuff like that. And exactly why the rugged rancher has agreed to marry a poor little rich girl like her! WHIRLWIND WEDDINGS Who says you can't hurry love?
Legend
As teenagers, Raine Beaumont and Joseph Colorado tasted the joys of first love, until her father’s lies destroyed their fragile bond. Now, twelve years later, Raine receives news that will take her back to her hometown of Oracle, Arizona, where she will face her lost love again.Haunted by the memory of the boy she once adored, Raine was not prepared for the mysterious, seductive man before her. For deep in Joseph’s eyes lies a power that binds him to his Apache heritage, a power that promises to heal all wounds and restore long lost dreams…and love.
Family secrets
Fireworks!
A million reasons why (The Reluctant Grooms #2)
Marry rich! That's what widow Mimi Carlton wished to do as she blew out the candle on her birthday cupcake. Once, she'd married for love, but with an eleven-year-old son to raise and an estate of $837.67, it was time to get practical! She had her looks and a plan. When she kissed millionaire Dusty McLain at a New Year's Eve bash, Mimi thought she'd hit pay dirt! Dusty had always had rotten luck with women--especially his ex-wife and estranged daughter. Out of self-preservation, he'd kept his relationships simple--purely sexual. Until he met Mimi. When his daughter unexpectedly left her baby with him, Mimi moved in to help out. Dusty liked playing house--until he learned of Mimi's vow ....
Kids, Critters and Cupid
Cupid, Colorado. This is ranch country, cowboy country—a land of high mountains and swift, cold rivers, of deer, elk and bear. The first Cameron came to Colorado more than a hundred years ago, and Camerons have owned and worked the Straight Arrow Ranch--the largest spread in these parts--ever since. The eldest Cameron son, Ben, is the one who's running the Straight Arrow these days. Ben's the best cowboy in the county--there's nothing he doesn't know about horses and cattle. But understanding his family is a different matter--especially Joey, his four-year-old son. And now there's a stranger in town. She's young, pretty as a picture and stubborn as a mule. She also has a daughter just about Joey's age. Problem is, Betsy's from California, of all the outlandish places. Ben doesn't have a hope of understanding anything about her...except that he wants her! For kids and kisses, tears and laughter, wild horses and wilder men-come to the Straight Arrow Ranch, near Cupid, Colorado. Come meet the Camerons