Christina Dodd
Encyclopedia
Christina Dodd is a best-selling American
author of
romance novels.
Dodd attended college in Boise, Idaho
, where she met her husband, Scott. After graduation, she worked as a draftsman
in an engineering firm, designing a sawmill. During her lunch hour, Dodd would begin reading a romance novel
. While working during the afternoon, she would often plot an ending for the story, and almost always eventually discovered that she liked her endings better than the ones the author intended.
After her daughter was born in 1980, Dodd decided to stay at home and try to write a book. Over the next ten years, she wrote three romance novels. For five of these years, she also worked part-time at an independent bookstore
. By talking to customers and watching what they purchased, Dodd was able to learn more about what people like to read. Her first two manuscripts were consistently rejected. The third, Candle in the Window, won the Romance Writers of America
Golden Heart Award for unpublished authors, resulting in its publication in 1991 by HarperCollins. The book won many awards and has not gone out of print.
Her first editor was conservative, and often cut or severely trimmed the love scenes that Dodd had written. When Dodd moved from HarperCollins to Avon, her new editor chose not to interfere in the love scenes. Her first novel for Avon, A Well Pleasured Lady, was the first of her novels to include love scenes written in Dodd's "normal, unedited frankness." A Well Pleasured Lady also marked Dodd's transition to writing historical romances set in the Regency period. Regencies allowed her to continue writing historicals while including fewer details on "what the characters are wearing, what the idioms mean, and who the scions of society were."
The heroines of Dodd's historical romance
novels are based on her mother, an "impoverished yet determined woman who, in spite of adversity, fights to take control of her life and always wins."
Her novels have since been translated into twelve languages and have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today
, and Publishers Weekly
bestseller
lists. Her 2003 novel, My Favorite Bride, spent 15 weeks in the top 15 of the New York Times Best Seller List
. The Romance Writers of America
have awarded her their RITA Award, the highest honor given to romance novelists. Dodd has even appeared as a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (on November 18, 2005).
In 2003 Dodd released her first contemporary romance.
Dodd and her family have lived in California, Idaho, and Texas, but they currently reside in Washington.
Dodd also relies occasionally on plot weekends. She and several friends who are romance novelists, including Connie Brockway
and Susan Mallery
, meet at a hotel for three days. Each author takes a turn, describing they type of book she wants to write and the ideas that she already has. The group then brainstorms various plot scenarios.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author of
romance novels.
Biography
Dodd is the youngest of three daughters (her sisters are 8 and 10 years older than she is) whose father died before she was born. Although her mother had been a housewife with few job skills, after Dodd's birth she found a job and worked diligently to support her children. Despite the hard work, she still found time every day to read to her children, instilling in Dodd a love of books.Dodd attended college in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
, where she met her husband, Scott. After graduation, she worked as a draftsman
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
in an engineering firm, designing a sawmill. During her lunch hour, Dodd would begin reading a romance novel
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
. While working during the afternoon, she would often plot an ending for the story, and almost always eventually discovered that she liked her endings better than the ones the author intended.
After her daughter was born in 1980, Dodd decided to stay at home and try to write a book. Over the next ten years, she wrote three romance novels. For five of these years, she also worked part-time at an independent bookstore
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
. By talking to customers and watching what they purchased, Dodd was able to learn more about what people like to read. Her first two manuscripts were consistently rejected. The third, Candle in the Window, won the Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America is a national non-profit genre writers association. It provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.-History:...
Golden Heart Award for unpublished authors, resulting in its publication in 1991 by HarperCollins. The book won many awards and has not gone out of print.
Her first editor was conservative, and often cut or severely trimmed the love scenes that Dodd had written. When Dodd moved from HarperCollins to Avon, her new editor chose not to interfere in the love scenes. Her first novel for Avon, A Well Pleasured Lady, was the first of her novels to include love scenes written in Dodd's "normal, unedited frankness." A Well Pleasured Lady also marked Dodd's transition to writing historical romances set in the Regency period. Regencies allowed her to continue writing historicals while including fewer details on "what the characters are wearing, what the idioms mean, and who the scions of society were."
The heroines of Dodd's historical romance
Historical romance
Historical romance is a subgenre of two literary genres, the romance novel and the historical novel.-Definition:Historical romance is set before World War II...
novels are based on her mother, an "impoverished yet determined woman who, in spite of adversity, fights to take control of her life and always wins."
Her novels have since been translated into twelve languages and have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, and Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
lists. Her 2003 novel, My Favorite Bride, spent 15 weeks in the top 15 of the New York Times Best Seller List
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
. The Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America is a national non-profit genre writers association. It provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.-History:...
have awarded her their RITA Award, the highest honor given to romance novelists. Dodd has even appeared as a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle (on November 18, 2005).
In 2003 Dodd released her first contemporary romance.
Dodd and her family have lived in California, Idaho, and Texas, but they currently reside in Washington.
Writing process
Dodd normally begins her writing process with a 10-20 page outline of the story. Every morning, she revises the pages that she wrote the day before. After refamiliarizing herself with the storyline, she then continues writing. She will also usually lightly outline the next few chapters that she is intending to write. When she reaches the midpoint of the manuscript, she often does a larger-scale revision. By the time she reaches the conclusion of the story, it is ready to be sent to the editors.Dodd also relies occasionally on plot weekends. She and several friends who are romance novelists, including Connie Brockway
Connie Brockway
Connie Brockway is a best-selling American author of seventeen historical and contemporary romance novels.-Biography:...
and Susan Mallery
Susan Mallery
Susan Mallery is the author of over 80 books for Harlequin and Silhouette as well as full length novels. She lives in the Los Angeles Area with her husband and cats.- Booklist by Years:2010s:*Completely Smitten...
, meet at a hotel for three days. Each author takes a turn, describing they type of book she wants to write and the ideas that she already has. The group then brainstorms various plot scenarios.
Awards
- Romance Writers of America RITA Award, Candle in the Window
- Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award, Candle in the Window
- Library Journal Top 5 Romances of 1997, A Well Pleasured Lady
- 1999 Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, A Well Favored Gentleman
My Stand Alone
- Treasure of the Sun (1991)
- Priceless (1992)
- Outrageous (1994)
- Move Heaven and Earth (1995)
- That Scandalous Evening (1998)
Governess Brides
- Rules of Surrender (2000)
- Rules of Engagement (2000)
- Rules of Attraction (2001)
- In My Wildest Dreams (2001)
- Lost in Your Arms (2002)
- My Favorite Bride (2002)
- My Fair Temptress (2005)
- In Bed with the Duke (2010)
Lost Texas Heart
- Just the Way You Are (2003)
- Almost Like Being in Love (2004)
- Close to You (2005)
Lost Princesses
- Some Enchanted Evening (2004)
- The Barefoot Princess (2006)
- The Prince Kidnaps a Bride (2006)
The Chosen Ones
- Storm of Visions (2009)
- Storm of Shadows (2009)
- Chains of Ice (2010)
- Chains of Fire (2010)
Darkness Chosen
- Scent of Darkness (2007)
- Touch of Darkness (2007)
- Into the Shadow (2008)
- Into the Flame (2008)
The Fortune Hunters
- Trouble in High Heels (2006)
- Tongue in Chic (2007)
- Thigh High (2008)
- Danger in a Red Dress (2009)
Novels
- Lady in Black (1993)
- The Greatest Lover in All England (1994)
- Once Upon a Pillow (2002) (with Connie Brockway)
Omnibus
- Tall, Dark, and Dangerous (1994) (with Catherine AndersonCatherine AndersonCatherine Anderson, born in 1947, is an American best-selling writer of historical and contemporary romance novels.-Biography:Some of Anderson's earliest memories are of hearing her mother type stories on an old typewriter, and then read the finished work aloud. With this inspiration, Anderson...
and Susan SizemoreSusan SizemoreSusan Sizemore is an American author of both romance and science fiction novels.-Biography:Susan Sizemore began writing her own stories as a child. As an adult, she wrote fanfiction set in the Star Trek universe. She later began writing original romance novels...
) - One Night With a Rogue (1995) (with Kimberly Cates, Deborah MartinDeborah MartinDeborah Martin is a contemporary American Realist Painter, Fine Art Photographer and curator. A site-specific artist, her work eulogizes the abandoned habitats and domestic landscapes of small town America....
(Sabrina JeffriesSabrina JeffriesSabrina Jeffries is the pen name of a best-selling American author of romance novels, who also writes under the pen names Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicholas.-Biography:...
) and Anne Stuart) - Scottish Brides (1999) (with Stephanie LaurensStephanie LaurensStephanie Laurens is a best-selling Australian author of romance novels.-Biography:Stephanie Laurens was born in Sri Lanka, which was at the time the British colony of Ceylon. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she was raised. After continuing through school and...
, Julia QuinnJulia QuinnJulia Quinn is the pseudonym used by Julie Pottinger , a best-selling American historical romance author, who says she chose her pseudonym so her Regency romances would be on bookshelves next to those of the successful romance writer Amanda Quick...
and Karen RanneyKaren Ranney- Biography :Karen Ranney is the daughter of an Air Force officer and lived in places around the world, including Naples and Paris. She began writing when she was five. In first grade, she wrote a short story called "The Maple Leaf," which was chosen to be read over the school intercom.After...
) - My Scandalous Bride (2004) (with Celeste BradleyCeleste Bradley-The Liar's Club:*The Pretender *The Impostor *The Spy *The Charmer *The Rogue -The Royal Four:*To Wed a Scandalous Spy *Surrender to a Wicked Spy *One Night with a Spy...
, Leslie LaFoy and Stephanie Laurens) - Hero, Come Back (2005) (with Elizabeth Boyle and Stephanie Laurens)
External links
- Christina Dodd Official Website
- Christina Dodd at the Internet Book List