Indiana RWA Authors

Judie Aitken What does someone who has been a country singer touring the U.S. and Canada, a galleried artist of Native American themes, and a professional equestrienne raising champion Appaloosa halter and performance horses do next? She writes award winning romance novels. Whether writing romantic suspense, paranormal , contemporary or historical, Judie loves to blend romance with exciting plots and Native American characters and traditions in her books. She is the proud recipient of two prestigious HOLT Medallions, twice nominated for RT Reviewer’s Choice Awards, a Borders Best Seller, a Book Sellers Best award winner, and is grateful for the many other awards she has received. Expanding her writing horizons, Judie is now developing a mystery series about an ex-state trooper, who returning to her Comanche roots, finds herself embroiled in some intriguing and dangerous situations. Originally from Montreal, Judie now lives in the Indianapolis area and when time allows, loves to travel with her family to participate as a singer at the Southern drum at powwows and Native American events across the US and Canada. Judie is represented by Gail Fortune of the Talbot-Fortune Agency. Visit Judie at: www.judieaitken.com

Bethany Cole Bethany Michaels has loved to read and write from an early age and since she grew up in a very small Indiana farm town, she had plenty of time to do so. She graduated from Ball State University with a BA in English and attended graduate classes at Butler University.A romance fan since her first Jude Deveraux book, Bethany made her first real stab at writing her own romance novel in 2004. She sold her first erotic romance novella, Educating Eva, to Red Sage Publishing in 2007. Since then, she has sold almost a dozen short stories, novellas and novels to several different publishers in historical, paranormal and contemporary erotic romance sub-genres. She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Indiana Romance Writers of America. Bethany met and married her husband in 1999. They have four small children, including a set of twins, and recently relocated from Indianapolis to Nashville, Tennessee, where Bethany works full time in the transportation industry.When she's not on deadline or catching up the laundry, Bethany enjoys movies, hiking, reading, long baths and traveling and thinks MP3 players and e-book readers are the best inventions ever. She detests all types of housework, garden slugs and outdoor temperatures greater than 80 degrees. She loves to hear from readers and can be contacted at Bethany@bethanymichaels.com

Liz Flaherty I'm a lifelong Hoosier, married to my own personal hero, with three kids, three kids-in-law, and seven grands. My fourth book, HOME TO SINGING TREES, will be out soon from The Wild Rose Press. I'll be retiring from my day job--postal worker--in January of 2011 and am sooo excited about whatever comes next.

Deborah Helton Lacey Thorn spends her days in small town Indiana the proud mother of three. When she is not busy with one of them she can be found typing away on her computer keyboard or burying her nose in a good book. Like every woman she knows just how chaotic life can be and how appealing that great escape can look. So toss aside the stress and tension of the never ending to do list. For now sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride with Lacey. It's your world...unlaced

Cheryl Hoerter Cheryl Brooks has been writing and indulging in romantic fantasies for the greater part of her life, but also enjoys music, gardening, and cooking. A critical care nurse since 1976, she is the author of The Cat Star Chronicles series of paranormal romance. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, she now lives in rural Indiana with her husband, two sons, two horses, two crazy dogs, and four cats. Visit Cheryl at http://cherylbrooksonline.com/ You can find Cheryl on Twitter as @CherylCatMaster and on Facebook as Cheryl Brooks.

Sandy James Sandy lives in a quiet suburb of Indianapolis with her husband of over twenty-five years. She is a high school teacher of both Psychology and U.S. History, and also teaches Psychology in the college level. Sandy and her husband own a small stable of harness racehorses and enjoy spending time at the two Indiana racetracks. She is a HOLT Medallion winner, past president and secretary of IRWA, and is a member of Romance Writers of America, FF&P, From the Heart RWA, Yellow Rose RWA, and Elements of RWA. Look for her latest release, Rules of the Game, coming from Carina Press in April of 2012. She is proud to be represented by Maureen Walters of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Visit Sandy at www.sandy-james.com or find her as sandyjamesbooks on both Twitter and Facebook

Alicia Rasley Alicia Rasley used to write romances in her head (starring herself and usually one or more of the Beatles), and from fifth grade knew she'd be a novelist. Her first novel was published when she was 24; her latest last year when she was... a trifle older than that. She has won several awards, including the RITA for Best Regency Novel. She currently teaches college students to write, that thankless task augmented by occasional workshops for fiction writers across the US and Canada. She lives in Indianapolis with her husband (another writer). One of her sons is recently married and serving in the military, and the other is a production assistant for a Hollywood studio. She tries to get to England at least once a year, and writes Regency romances so that she can call that "research". She is by far the oldest or at least longest-serving member of IRWA, having joined in 1986, and answers to the title of "Chapter Dinosaur."

Katherine Smith Katherine Smith aka Emma Wildes grew up loving books, so turning to writing seemed a natural course. She's been a #1 bestselling author at Fictionwise, an Eppie winner, a Lories winner, a Passionate Plume winner, and recently received the 2010 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence in historical. Her book, AN INDECENT PROPOSITION (Signet Eclipse) garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly and a pick of the week. It was also a top pick and Reviewer's Choice nominee from RT Book Reviews. She loves historical romance, and Regency in particular, though she does dabble her toes in other genres under different names. She lives in rural Indiana with her husband, three children, and a tempermental cat named Poot. Visit Emma at www.emmawildes.com