I'm definitely a Baby Boomer, born smack dab in the middle of the 20th century--1950 as a matter of fact. My mom (Anna) had met my dad (Clinton) in Long Beach, California, right after World War II ended, and two weeks later they got hitched! (As you'll soon see, they're not the only ones who had a whirlwind marriage.) They settled in sunny southern California, not too far from Los Angeles and within the next nine years produced my sister Linda, me, and my brother Craig.

Life was good and always full of fun, playing softball on the streets in our neighborhood, swimming at the local pool in the summertime, and hanging out in my bedroom writing stories. Lots and lots of stories--although I never told a soul.

In the mid-seventies, I met Bob, who'd been a sheriff's deputy until he got tired of handling family disputes. (Murders were one thing; husbands and wives fighting drove him in another career direction.) Anyway… we met in late October, decided to get married in November, and on New Year's Eve 1976, we ran off to Las Vegas with eleven family members and friends and tied the knot. Obviously we did something right, because even though we knew each other only two months before we married, we're still together! (You'd get to see a photo of Bob, the man I dedicate all my books to, but he prefers to remain a Man of Mystery. No way, no how, will he allow a picture to be put on this website--even though he's decidedly handsome!)

Shortly after our wedding in Las Vegas's Little Church of the West, we packed up and moved 400 miles north to sunny northern California. A few years later our daughter Melanie was born.  In January 2003, she married her sweetie, Matthew, at Lake Tahoe, California, right beside the sparkling water and surrounded by knee-deep snow and a bright blue sky. It was absolute heaven!  In November 2004, they gave us our first grandchild, a beautiful baby boy named Mason.

For the first forty-some-odd years of my life, I spent way too many years working as a secretary and a few years writing dismally boring marketing and advertising literature about phones and refrigerators. (Can you tell my heart was in my work!) I told no one that what I really wanted to be was a romance writer because they would laugh, so I made the subject of phones and refrigerators as dreamy and passionate as I possibly could! But at home, I'd sit with pen and paper and write my romantic little stories, the same thing I'd been doing since I was old enough to put two sentences together. In 1993, I joined Romance Writers of America and met some of the loveliest women on earth--women who, like me, loved to read and write romance. A year later I sold my first book: Enchanted, and I was in seventh heaven! A lot of my stories have made it into bookstores since then, and it still excites me to see my name and my books taking up space on a shelf in bookstores around the country--and around the world!

When I'm not reading mysteries, which I dearly love, I like to curl up with a great historical romance. And if I see the word "pirate" on the cover of a book, I'm hooked. Looking for A Hero, my book about a time-traveling pirate, is my favorite of all the books that I've written. You've just gotta love a guy with an eye patch, long hair, tall boots, and a cutlass!

Bob and I love the outdoors, wide open spaces, and wildlife. You can find us once or twice a year in Yellowstone National Park looking for moose and grizzly bears!  We finally purchased our "retirement home" in far northern California with a beautiful view of Mt. Shasta.  An addition to our family was a Bernese Mountain Dog named "Barkley" to keep my feet warm while I write my books!  (He weighs nearly 90 pounds!)

I've always loved to travel, although I haven't yet been too far out of the United States. For now, I'll settle for traveling close to home with Bob, and on occasion, visiting places like Silverdale, Washington, where I get to spend time with my dear friend Kim, or New Orleans, Manhattan, Denver, Newport, Rhode Island and other terrific places with writing buddies like Victoria Alexander, Stephanie Laurens, Linda Needham and Susan Andersen. (We have a blast when we're together. Here's a photo of Linda, Me, Stephanie and Susan. Camera shy Victoria snapped the pic!)

In addition to traveling, I have a penchant for collecting. Some of my favorite pieces are my stunningly beautiful Beauty and the Beast Disney Collectibles. In addition to Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters, I have many other treasures scattered around my home, like Boyds Bears, Cherished Teddies, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, too!

If you'd like to read about some of my other favorite things, check out My Favorite Things. You might find out that you and I have a lot in common.

I do know that we share a love for romance books. I love reading them and I love writing them--and that's exactly what I'm going to do right now!!!

Ciao!

Patti

Updated: 07/16/2008