Susan Wiggs
Encyclopedia
Susan Wiggs is an American
author
of historical
and contemporary romance novels.
, instead becoming a math teacher. She continued to read, especially reveling in romance novels. After running out of reading material one evening in 1983, she began writing again, using the working title A Book About Some Bad Adults.
named Texas Wildflower. Her subsequent historical and contemporary romances have been set in a wide range of settings and time periods. Many of her novels are set in areas where she's lived or visited. She gave up teaching in 1992 to write full-time, and has since completed an average of two books per year.
In 2000, Wiggs began writing single-title women's fiction stories in addition to historical romance novels. The first, The You I Never Knew, was published in 2001. After writing mass-market original novels for several years, Wiggs made her hardcover
debut in 2003 with Home Before Dark.
Many of her novels are connected, allowing Wiggs to revisit established characters.
Her books have been published in many languages, including French
, German
, Dutch
, Latvian
, Japanese
and Russian
.
Wiggs's books are frequently named finalists for the RITA Award, the highest honor given in the genre. She received the Romance Writers of America
RITA Award for Best Romance of the year in 1993 for Lord of the Night. She won a second RITA in 2000 when The Charm School was named "Favorite Book of the Year." She has also won the RITA in 2001 for Best Short Historical for The Mistress. and in 2006 for Lakeside Cottage. She has also been the recipient of the Holt Medallion, the Colorado Award of Excellnce, and the Peninsula Romance Writer's of America Blue Boa Award. Romantic Times has twice named her a Career Achievement Award winner.
with her husband and daughter. Her mother maintains her web page.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of historical
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...
and contemporary romance novels.
Early years
Wiggs began writing as a child, finishing her first novel, A Book About Some Bad Kids, when she was eight. She temporarily abandoned her dream of being a novelist after graduating from Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, instead becoming a math teacher. She continued to read, especially reveling in romance novels. After running out of reading material one evening in 1983, she began writing again, using the working title A Book About Some Bad Adults.
Career
For three years Wiggs continued to write, and in 1987 Zebra Books published her first novel, a Western historical romanceHistorical 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...
named Texas Wildflower. Her subsequent historical and contemporary romances have been set in a wide range of settings and time periods. Many of her novels are set in areas where she's lived or visited. She gave up teaching in 1992 to write full-time, and has since completed an average of two books per year.
In 2000, Wiggs began writing single-title women's fiction stories in addition to historical romance novels. The first, The You I Never Knew, was published in 2001. After writing mass-market original novels for several years, Wiggs made her hardcover
Hardcover
A hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
debut in 2003 with Home Before Dark.
Many of her novels are connected, allowing Wiggs to revisit established characters.
Her books have been published in many languages, including French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
, Latvian
Latvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Wiggs's books are frequently named finalists for the RITA Award, the highest honor given in the genre. She received 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:...
RITA Award for Best Romance of the year in 1993 for Lord of the Night. She won a second RITA in 2000 when The Charm School was named "Favorite Book of the Year." She has also won the RITA in 2001 for Best Short Historical for The Mistress. and in 2006 for Lakeside Cottage. She has also been the recipient of the Holt Medallion, the Colorado Award of Excellnce, and the Peninsula Romance Writer's of America Blue Boa Award. Romantic Times has twice named her a Career Achievement Award winner.
Personal
Wiggs lives on a small island in Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
with her husband and daughter. Her mother maintains her web page.
Discovery Series
- October Wind (1994)
- Jewel of the Sea (1994)
- Kingdom of Gold (1994)
Tudor Rose Series
- Circle in the Water (1994) revised and reissued in 2009 as At The King's Command
- Vows Made in Wine (1995) revised and reissued in 2009 as The Maidens Hand
- Dancing on Air (1996) revised reissued in 2009 as At The Queens Summons
Calhoun Chronicles
- The Charm School (1999)
- The Horsemaster's Daughter (1999)
- Halfway to Heaven (2001)
- Enchanted Afternoon (2003)
- A Summer Affair (2003)
Chicago Fire Trilogy
- The Hostage (2000)
- The Mistress (2000)
- The Firebrand (2001)
Lakeshore Chronicles
- Summer At Willow Lake (2006)
- Homecoming Season (a novella in the anthology MORE THAN WORDS: STORIES OF COURAGE)
- The Winter Lodge (2007)
- Dockside (2007)
- Snow Fall at Willow Lake (2008)
- Fireside (2009)
- Lakeshore Christmas (2009)
- The Summer Hideaway (2010)
- Marrying Daisy Bellamy (2011)
Novels
- How I Planned Your Wedding (2011)
- The Goodbye Quilt (2011)
- Texas Wildflower (1987)
- Briar Rose (1987)
- Winds of Glory (1988)
- Moonshadow (1989)
- Lily and the Leopard (1991)
- The Raven and the Rose (1991)
- Lord of the Night (1993)
- The Mist and the Magic (1993)
- Embrace the Day (1993)
- Miranda (1996)
- Merry Christmas, Baby! (1996)
- The Lightkeeper (1998)
- The Drifter (1999)
- Husband for Hire (1999)
- The You I Never Knew (2001)
- Passing Through Paradise (2002)
- Home Before Dark (2003)
- Summer by the Sea (2004)
- The Ocean Between Us (2004)
- Lakeside Cottage (2005)
- Table for Five (2005)
- JustBreath (2008)
Omnibus
- Purrfect Romance (1995) (with Jennifer Blake, Robin Lee Hatcher)
- This Time...Marriage (1996) (with Muriel Jensen, Janice Kaiser)
- That Summer Place (1998) (with Jill BarnettJill BarnettJill Barnett is a best-selling American author of women's fiction and romance novels.In 1988, Jill Barnett sold her first novel, The Heart's Haven, to Pocket Books. It was published two years later, and spent three weeks on the bestseller list. She continued to write for Pocket, and by the time...
, Debbie MacomberDebbie MacomberDebbie Macomber is a best-selling American author of over 150 romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Over 140 million copies of her books are in print throughout the world, and four have become made-for-TV-movies...
) - Cinderfella / Lady of the Night (2002) (with Kate HoffmannKate HoffmannPeggy Hoffmann is an American writer of over 45 romance novels since 1993 as Kate Hoffmann. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin.-Biography:...
) - It Happened One Christmas (2003) (with Julie McBrideJulie McBrideJulie McBride is an American professional basketball player who is currently a member of the Kayseri Pan Kup Basketball team after leading Samsun Basketbol Kulübü in the Turkish Women's Basketball League to the 2nd place and leading her team in scoring and assist...
, Nancy WarrenNancy WarrenNancy Warren is a Pacific Northwest author of contemporary romance novels. She received her first publication contract after winning Harlequin's 2000 Summer Blaze contest...
) - More Than Words: Volume 3 (2003) (with Tori CarringtonTori CarringtonTori Carrington is the pen name by the husband-wife writing team formed by Tony Karayianni and Lori Schlachter Karayianni , they are a popular United States writer of over 28 romance novels since 1998.-Biography:Tony Karayianni was born in Smila, Greece and he grew up in Athens. He immigrated to...
, Karen HarperKaren HarperKaren Harper is an historical fiction and contemporary fiction author. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.-Writing career:...
, Catherine Mann, Kasey Michaels)