Susan Wiggs (born May 17, 1958)[1][2] is an American author of historical and contemporary romance novels.

Susan Wiggs
Born (1958-05-17) May 17, 1958 (age 66)
United States
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerican
Alma materHarvard University
Period1987–present
GenreRomance
Website
www.susanwiggs.com

Early years

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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 University, 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.[3][4]

Career

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For three years Wiggs continued to write, and in 1987 Zebra Books published her first novel, a Western historical romance named Texas Wildflower.[3] 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.[5] She gave up teaching in 1992 to write full-time, and has since completed an average of two books per year.[6]

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.[6] After writing mass-market original novels for several years, Wiggs made her hardcover debut in 2003 with Home Before Dark.[5]

Many of her novels are connected, allowing Wiggs to revisit established characters.[3]

Her books have been published in many languages, including French, German, Dutch, Latvian, Japanese, Hungarian and Russian.[4]

Awards

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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.[5] and in 2006 for Lakeside Cottage. She has also been the recipient of the Holt Medallion, the Colorado Award of Excellence, and the Peninsula Romance Writers of America Blue Boa Award.[3] Romantic Times has twice named her a Career Achievement Award winner.[6]

Personal

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Wiggs lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.[6][7][8] Her mother maintains her web page.[4]

Bibliography

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Stand-alone novels[9] [10]

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  • Texas Wildflower (1987)
  • Briar Rose (1987)
  • Winds of Glory (1988)
  • Embrace the Day (1988)
  • Moonshadow (1989)
  • The Raven and the Rose (1991)
  • Lord of the Night (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)
  • Lakeside Cottage (2005)
  • Table for Five (2005)
  • Just Breathe (2008)
  • The Borrowed Bride (2008)
  • How I Planned Your Wedding (2011)
  • The Goodbye Quilt (2011) also in The Summer It Begins
  • The St. James Affair (2014) also in Snowfall in the City
  • A Fairytale Christmas (2014)
  • Island Time (2016)
  • Map of the Heart (2017)
  • Between You and Me (June 26, 2018)
  • The Oysterville Sewing Circle (2019)
  • Sugar and Salt (2022)

Lakeshore Chronicles

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 Summer At Willow Lake 2006
1.5 Homecoming Season More Than Words: Stories of Courage
2 The Winter Lodge 2007
3 Dockside 2007
4 Snow Fall at Willow Lake Snowstorm Heat Bundle 2008
5 Fireside 2009
6 Lakeshore Christmas 2009
7 The Summer Hideaway 2010
8 Marrying Daisy Bellamy 2011
9 Return to Willow Lake 2012
10 Candlelight Christmas Snowfall in the City 2013
11 Starlight of Willow Lake 2015

Bella Vista Chronicles

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Apple Orchard 2013
2 The Beekeeper's Ball 2014
3 The Lost and Found Bookshop 2020

Switchback, Vermont

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# Title Also In Publication Date
0.5 The Key Ingredient 2016
1 Family Tree 2016

Calhoun Chronicles

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Charm School The Calhoun Chronicles Bundle 1999
2 The Horsemaster's Daughter The Calhoun Chronicles Bundle 1999
3 Halfway to Heaven The Calhoun Chronicles Bundle 2001
4 Enchanted Afternoon 2003
5 A Summer Affair 2003

Us series

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Ocean Between Us 2004
2 The Story of Us 2010

Great Chicago Fire Trilogy

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Hostage 2000
2 The Mistress 2000
3 The Firebrand 2001

Tudor Rose series

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# Title Also In Publication Date Notes
1 At The King's Command 1994 Circle in the Water

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

2 The Maidens Hand 1995 Vows Made in Wine

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

3 At The Queens Summons 1996 Dancing on Air

revised, reissued and renamed in 2009

Women of War series

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 The Lily and the Leopard 1991
2 The Mistress of Normandy 1991
3 The Mist and the Magic 1993
4 The Maiden of Ireland 1993

Discovery series

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# Title Also In Publication Date
1 October Wind 1994
2 Jewel of the Sea 1994
3 Kingdom of Gold 1994

Picture books

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  • The Canary Who Sailed with Columbus (1989)

Anthologies and collections

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Anthology or Collection Contents Publication Date In Collaboration

With

Purrfect Romance 1995 Jennifer Blake

Robin Lee Hatcher

Irish Magic The Trysting Hour 1995 Barbara Samuel

Roberta GellisMorgan Llywelyn

This Time...Marriage 1996 Muriel Jensen

Janice Kaiser

Irish Magic II The Changeling 1997 Barbara Samuel

Roberta GellisMorgan Llywelyn

That Summer Place Island Time 1998 Jill Barnett

Debbie Macomber

The 10-Year Reunion Heart of the West

Bachelor Auction #1

1999
Cinderfella / Lady of the Night Cinderfella 2002 Kate Hoffmann
It Happened One Christmas 2003 Julie McBride

Nancy Warren

More Than Words: Volume 3 2003 Tori Carrington

Karen Harper

Catherine Mann

Kasey Michaels

The Calhoun Chronicles Bundle The Charm School

The Horsemaster's Daughter

Halfway to Heaven

2007
Snowstorm Heat Bundle Snowfall at Willow Lake 2008 Catherine Mann

Kate Hoffmann

More Than Words: Stories of Courage Homecoming Season 2008 Sharon Sala

Emilie Richards

Romancing the Holidays Bundle 2009 2009 Sherryl Woods

Lindsay McKenna

Carole Mortimer

Snowfall in the City The St. James Affair

Candlelight Christmas

2019
The Summer It Begins The Goodbye Quilt 2019 Sheila Roberts

References

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  1. ^ Fantastic fiction
  2. ^ Happy birhday Susan Wiggs by Anne Caroline Drake
  3. ^ a b c d Rock, Bonnie (February 2002). "Writerspace talks with Romance Author Susan Wiggs". Writerspace. Archived from the original on 2007-10-06. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  4. ^ a b c Housely, Suzie (June 2002). "Her Pen is Mightier Than A Sword". Beneath the Covers Past. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  5. ^ a b c "Susan Wiggs – And Now (as usual), Something New". All About Romance Novels. May 25, 2003. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  6. ^ a b c d Ward, Jean Marie; Teri Smith (2000). "Susan Wiggs: Historical Polish, Organizational Savvy". Crescent Blues. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  7. ^ Bexte, Martina (September 2003). "Interview: Susan Wiggs". BookLoons. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  8. ^ Local authors, Bainbridge Public Library, March 26, 2011, archived from the original on January 19, 2012, retrieved 2012-01-25
  9. ^ "Books by Susan Wiggs". Good Reads. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  10. ^ "Ottawa Public Library". Ottawa Public Library. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
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