Karen Rose Smith http://www.karenrosesmith.com

Karen Rose Smith has sold over sixty books since 1991. She has won New Jersey's Golden Leaf Award in Short Contemporary Romance, the Desert Rose Golden Quill Award in Traditional Romance, and CataRomance.com's recognition for Best Silhouette Special Edition. Her romances have made both the USA TODAY list and the Waldenbooks Bestseller list for Series Romance. Her latest release, THE BRACELET, for Harlequin's Everlasting Love imprint will be released in August 2007. She is working on a new series for Silhouette Special Edition for 2008. When she is not writing romances, she enjoys creating jewelry with her husband and thinking up new plots while she is designing.   #

Jeri Smith-Ready http://www.jerismithready.com

Jeri has been writing fiction since the night she had her first double espresso. Her debut print novel, Eyes of Crow, a romantic fantasy from Luna Books, appears in November 2006. Jeri's e-pubbed urban fantasy, Requiem for the Devil (Time Warner, 2001) won first place in the National Writers Association Novel Contest. She holds a master’s degree in environmental policy and lives in Maryland with her husband, two cats, and the world's goofiest greyhound.   #

Mary Strand

Mary Strand has been a member of WRW since November 2001, about the same time she left her position as a partner in a large Minneapolis law firm to write novels full-time. After practicing corporate law for 16 years, she much prefers writing women’s fiction. Her first manuscript won the 2001 Golden Heart; her second was a 2002 Golden Heart finalist. She has now completed five manuscripts and is anxiously awaiting her first sale. She also served on the RWA Board of Directors from 2002 to 2004, but she’d rather talk about writing. Or basketball. Or, well, any number of things.  #

Patty Suchy http://www.novelexplorations.com

Patty Suchy's learned a lot from WRW and now will be putting most of those lessons learned into non-fiction efforts rather than fiction. Her passion for the written word also carries over into a business she created 10 years ago—Novel Explorations, Where Fiction and Travel Merge. You can check out her latest travel offerings on her Web site, which is in the process of being updated and reformatted to promote the many wonderful writers she's had the opportunity to meet.   #

Hope Tarr http://www.hopetarr.com

A WRW member since 1997, Hope Tarr dreamt of being a romance writer from the time she traded in her storybook fairytales a la Disney for more mature versions of romance by Anya Seton, Daphne du Maurier, and Victoria Holt. That dream has weathered a Master's Degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Education. In 1994 she wandered into a bookstore where she picked up a small pink paperback, Kathryn Falk's How to Write a Romance and Get It Published. She's never looked back. Today Hope is the author of a dozen (and counting) historical and contemporary romances for Berkley, Medallion Press, and Harlequin. Her Scottish-set Medieval, Bound to Please (July 2008) was the launch for Harlequin Blaze's Historical Miniseries. Hope lives in Manhattan where the people and sights provide a boundless well of creative inspiration. In addition to her web site and blog at http://www.hopetarr.com, you can find her online at Facebook and Twitter.  #

LaVerne Thompson http://www.isisindcblog.blogspot.com

LaVerne Thompson, originally from Trinidad, has been writing stories shortly after she learned to write. She is an avid reader of all genres of romance and sci/fi, and she writes contemporary and fantasy romances. Her contemporary work, Promises from Red Rose Publishing is her first publication. Her fantasy work, Dragon’s Heart-Story of the Brethren won first place in the 2008 Romance Slam Jam Aspiring Author Contest. She is currently working on several other writing projects due out soon.  #