FEATURE AUTHOR: Janice Sims My career as a romance novelist began purely by chance. I'd sent a manuscript to Odyssey Publishing, a small house in Maryland. The publisher, Leticia Peoples, was having some financial difficulties but she knew of Kensington Publishing's plans to start a line of African American romances. She was kind enough to forward my manuscript to then editor Monica Harris. A few months later, Monica phoned and offered me a two-book contract. My first book, Affair of the Heart, was published in July 1996. It went back to print a few months later. Ever since then I've had one or two books published per year. Coming in April 2004, To Have and To Hold. In this sequel to For Your Love Solange and Rupert are finally getting married. But who is the man stalking Solange? Will Desta/Tesfaye's adoption come through in time for the wedding? Why is Solange's divorced mother and Rupert's widowed father behaving like lovestruck teenagers? What about their transsexual wedding planner? Will he/she come to the ceremony dressed as a man or a woman? Come to a wedding you'll never forget. Affair of the Heart (July 1996). Veterinarian Cara Lynn Garrett goes home to Shelbyville, Kentucky for rest and relaxation and encounters construction company owner Jordan Davidson, the man of her dreams. Love Letters (St. Valentine's Day anthology, February 1997). My novella, To Love Again, introduces Toni Shaw and her daughters, Georgie and Bree. But it's really Alana Calloway and Nico Setera's story. Alana is the widow of Nico's best friend, Michael. And Nico has been in love with her way before the wedding ever took place. Unbeknownst to him, she returns his feelings. All the Right Reasons (June 1997) Georgie Shaw from the novella, To Love Again, falls for the private investigator, Clay Knight, who was hired by her long-lost father. Charles Waters has no idea he is the father of twins. Out of the Blue (December 1998) My first sci-fi romance. Marine biologist, Gaea Maxwell, races against time to find the answer to a strange sighting: she saw a man transform into a dolphin, and back again. Corporate attorney Micah Cavanaugh, instantly smitten with Gaea, goes along for the ride. For Keeps (September 1999) Set in Montana. Cheyenne Roberts tells Jackson Kincaid she's getting married in one year's time, and he's the groom! Won an Award of Excellence from Romance in Color in 1999. A Bittersweet Love (March 2000) Theodora 'Teddy' Riley must get an interview with reclusive author Joachim West, and Joachim is in Ireland to attend his best friend's wedding. Set in Ireland and San Francisco, Alana and Nico Setera from To Love Again make cameo appearances. A Very Special Love (Mother's Day anthology, May 2000) My novella, The Keys to My Heart introduces the Everett family of Damascus, Florida. Kiana Everett is acting as surrogate mother to her orphaned niece, Courtney. Until Gabriel Merrick shows up and claims Courtney's parents named him her guardian in their will. Won the Novella of the Year Award from Romance in Color in 2000. A Second Chance at Love (January 2001). The sequel to All the Right Reasons. Toni Shaw and Charles Waters are having an illicit love affair that Toni is reluctant to reveal. But what happens when he asks her to marry him? Their daughters, Georgie and Bree are all for the union.

This Time Forever (October 2001. The sequel to The Keys to My Heart in the A VERY SPECIAL LOVE anthology. In the sleepy town of Damascus, Florida, Chief of Police Kerry Everett's Marine training doesn't often get put to the test. Then a man is found viciously murdered near the city limits, and Kerry must call in the FBI to help her capture the killer. But when Special Agent Maceo Kent arrives, he brings with him memories of the military training they shared years ago--as well as one incredible night of passion Kerry could never forget. Sister, Sister (anthology from St. Martin's Press, October 2001). In my novella Best Left Unsaid sisters LuAnne and Rhonda have drifted apart. Rhonda doesn't understand why. She thinks it's because of the distance between them. She's a fashion photographer who lives in NYC. LuAnne is a supermodel who resides in Paris. Rhonda is shocked when LuAnne reveals the true reason why the sisters haven't been close these past two years. Love in Bloom (St. Valentine's Day anthology, February 2002). In my novella, Teacher's Pet, college professor Bethany Porter is reunited with a man she hasn't seen in twenty years. In that time, Colin Armstrong has been married and divorced, and has transformed himself from a pauper to a millionaire. What hasn't changed is the strong attraction the two share. Kiana and Gabriel Merrick from The Keys to My Heart and This Time Forever make cameo appearances. For Your Love (July 2002). The sequel to A Second Chance at Love. Secondary characters Dr. Solange DuPree (who was also the best friend of Gaea Maxwell in Out of the Blue) and Rupert Giles get their own story. Set in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the two see the sights using a native guide, a boy named Tesfaye who is not what he seems. Desert Heat (September 2003). In my second sci-fi romance, Dr. Katharine Maxwell, a physicist who is so obsessed with her work that she cannot work in the field and instead works as a science writer, mistakes an innocent man for a terrorist in an Arizona air terminal. After giving Deputy Marshal Rafael Grant a bloody nose, Kate is obliged to nurse him back to health. Thus begins a tale rife with passion, mystery and a lot of physical contact. The nice kind. Coming in April 2004, To Have and To Hold. In this sequel to For Your Love Solange and Rupert are finally getting married. But who is the man stalking Solange? Will Desta/Tesfaye's adoption come through in time for the wedding? Why is Solange's divorced mother and Rupert's widowed father behaving like lovestruck teenagers? What about their transsexual wedding planner? Will he/she come to the ceremony dressed as a man or a woman? Come to a wedding you'll never forget.