Chance the Winds of Fortune

Laurie Lee McBain was born on 15 October 1949 in Riverside, California, USA. She was educated at San Bernardino Valley College in California and studied at California State University. She was always passionate about art and history, and her father encouraged her and helped her write her first historical romance. At twenty-six, Laurie McBain became a publishing phenomenon with her first historical romance. Her first novels "Devil's Desire" and "Moonstruck Madness" each sold over a million copies and all of her romances were bestsellers, selling over 11 million copies. She was a winner of the Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Historical Romance Author. Laurie was one of the pioners of the new romance style with Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. But, after the death of her father, she decided to retire from the publishing world in 1985, with only seven romances written.