Sarah Holland (born November 1961 in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England) is a writer, actress and singer best known for her 22 romantic novels for

Harlequin Harlequin (; it, Arlecchino ; lmo, Arlechin, Bergamasque dialect, Bergamasque pronunciation ) is the best-known of the ''zanni'' or comic servant characters from the Italian language, Italian ''commedia dell'arte'', associated with the city o ...

which have been published in over 130 countries, selling millions of copies worldwide. She has also written for television, newspapers and the screen as well as appearing in films; most notably the multi-award-winning Texan movie '' Artois the Goat'' (2009) and a supporting role with Academy Award-winning American actor

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

in ''

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' (1999). Holland wrote her first book, ''Too Hot To Handle'' at 18, and became one of the youngest romantic novelists in history when it was published in 1982.

Biography

Personal life

Holland was born in November 1961 at

, Kent, England. The daughter of Sheila Coates Holland (best-selling novelist

Charlotte Lamb Sheila Holland, née Sheila Ann Mary Coates ( in Dagenham, Essex, England – in Isle of Man) was best known under the pseudonym Charlotte Lamb as a prolific romantic novelist. She signed her novels with her married or maiden names – Shei ...

) and classical biographer, ex-''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time specific ...

'' journalist Richard Holland, she has two sisters; poet and novelist

Jane Holland Jane Holland (born 17 November 1966 in Ilford, London) is an English poet, novelist and astrologer. She won an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors for her poetry in 1996 and her YA novel ''Witchstruck'', written as Victoria Lamb, ...

and artist and singer/songwriter Charlotte Holland known as Miss Spooky Mooky, and two brothers Michael Holland and David Holland; both musicians and singer/songwriters. Holland suffered

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

in her teens and had to leave

Wanstead High School Wanstead High School (WHS), formerly Wanstead County High School, is a co-educational, non-denominational, comprehensive secondary school in Wanstead, London, United Kingdom. Admissions It specialises in the performing arts and has 1532 pu ...

, London with a handful of

O level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

s at sixteen. Subsequently, educated at home by her parents, who owned a private library of over 50,000 books, she moved to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

with them in 1978 and, in 1980, began training to write at her mother's side. Holland has travelled extensively, writing and researching in 56 countries and 5 continents,((cn)) many of which feature in her books. She has lived in 8 countries: England, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Australia, Holland, France and the United States (Texas and San Francisco). Holland currently lives in Scotland and works in Edinburgh.

Writing career

Because of the speed of her writing and the success of her books, Holland was nicknamed

Mouton Cadet Mouton Cadet is the brand name of a popular range of modestly priced, generic Bordeaux wines, considered Bordeaux's most successful brand.winepros.com.au. Created by Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Cadet wine is produced through the assembly o ...

, a wordplay on ''Lamb's Daughter'', by publishing brothers Alan Boon and John Boon, who then ran

Mills & Boon Mills & Boon is a romance imprint of British publisher Harlequin UK Ltd. It was founded in 1908 by Gerald Rusgrove Mills and Charles Boon as a general publisher. The company moved towards escapist fiction for women in the 1930s. In 1971, the ...

. This industry nickname was later reported in the non-fiction book ''The Merchants of Venus: Inside Harlequin and the Empire of Romance'' by Paul Grescoe (1998). Holland was living in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

in April 2008 when the

FLDS The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS Church) is a religious sect of the fundamentalist Mormon denominations whose members practice polygamy. The fundamentalist Mormon movement emerged in the early 20th century, ...

Mormon-splinter sect case shot to international prominence and, as a contributing journalist, wrote about it for the ''

San Angelo Standard-Times ''San Angelo Standard-Times'' is a daily newspaper based in San Angelo, Texas, United States that was established in 1884. It is owned by Gannett. History The newspaper was established in 1884 by J. G. Murphy, the city's second mayor. Mr. Murp ...

'' sparking a news debate as well as giving interviews to Texan news agencies including ''San Angelo Live''. In late 2008, Holland moved to London, England, where she worked as publication director for ''EMP Media's'' national celebrity magazine empire ''At Home Magazine'' for three years. In June 2011, she was appointed editor-in-chief of ''Victory House Publishing's'' ''La Creme Magazine''. Holland is the subject of controversial blogs such as ''Wise Old Tom Kelly's Blog'' and ''Sarah Holland's Life Story - A Lawman's View''

Influences

Holland is also an actress and singer and many of her books reflect this. The heroines of ''Bluebeard's Bride'' (1985), ''Adult Love'' (1991) and ''Desert Destiny'' (1991) are all singers and the books have music business backgrounds. ''The Devil's Mistress'' (1982), ''Forbidden Passion'' (1991) and ''Blue Fire'' (1994) are all set in the film industry with both movie star heroes and heroines. The hero of ''Too Hot To Handle'' (1982) is a pop star; the hero of ''Red Hot Lover'' (1998) is a movie star.

Screen writing career

In 1995, Holland studied screen writing with

Robert McKee Robert McKee (born January 30, 1941) is an author, lecturer and story consultant who is known for his "Story Seminar", which he developed when he was a professor at the University of Southern California. McKee is the author of ''Story: Substa ...

in London and was invited to write a 6-minute teleplay for Island of Dreams, part of the

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

series, ''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satire film directed by Hal Ashby. Based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Jerzy Kosiński, it was adapted for the screen by Kosiński and the uncredited Robert C. Jones. The film stars Peter Sellers a ...

''. Island of Dreams was nominated for Best Documentary of 1996 by the

RTS RTS may refer to: Medicine * Rape trauma syndrome, the psychological trauma experienced by a rape victim * Revised Trauma Score, a system to evaluate injuries secondary to violent trauma * Rubinstein–Taybi syndrome, a condition characterized by ...

(Royal Television Society) (Northern) and sold to over 13 countries. In 1999, Holland wrote a film screenplay, ''Abuse of a Dominant Position'' for ''Iron Pictures'', Manchester Ltd.

Acting career

At 20, Holland enrolled at the London

East 15 Acting School East 15 Acting School (East 15) is a British drama school in Loughton, Essex.Its degrees are awarded by the University of Essex, with which it merged on 1 September 2000. As of 2020, Essex University, where East 15 is located, has been ranked No. ...

and embarked on an acting career which has included film, television and theatre. She performed

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

for

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

's ''Bard on the Box'' series (1994) and won the supporting actress role opposite Hollywood superstar

directed by Peter Rowe; also starring

Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer perhaps best known for his leading role opposite Julia Roberts in ''Sleeping with the Enemy'' (1991), the title character in Robin Hood (1991 film), terrorist Kevin O ...

and

Kevin Zegers Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

. Her Equity registered stage name is ''Abigail Rhode'' (Abby Rhode). She has appeared in a number of films through the ''Isle of Man Film Commission''. In 2008, Holland played French author ''Eva Verrane'' in the award-winning film ''Artois The Goat'', which she also narrated; it was directed by ''Cliff and Kyle Bogart'' and shot in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

for the 2009

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

with the world premiere at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

2009 at Austin, Texas. ''Artois the Goat'' gained a string of nominations and awards at international film festivals in 2009–10. Holland appeared as

Audrey Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name ''Æðelþryð'', composed of the elements '' æðel'' "noble" and ''þryð'' "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Aud ...

in the Summer 2013 production of

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

in Hampstead, London and is appearing in the autumn 2013 season of

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

plays including The Bear, The Proposal and

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

. Sarah has also written theatre reviews, most recently for the opening week of Stephen Ward the Musical, music by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

, lyrics by Don Black and

Christopher Hampton Sir Christopher James Hampton ( Horta, Azores, 26 January 1946) is a British playwright, screenwriter, translator and film director. He is best known for his play ''Les Liaisons Dangereuses'' based on the novel of the same name and the film ...

Music career

Holland is also a professional singer with over 20 years experience. She has performed blues, jazz and pop all over London and the Isle of Man. She has been singing modern and classical music with ''St James's Choir'' London since 2009.

Television career

Holland has been the subject of three television documentaries. In 1982,

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's Nationwide made a 10-minute programme about her: – ''Young Writer at Drama School''. In 1993,

filmed Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb for the 50-minute documentary '' Paradise Road'' directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe. In 1996, a 30-minute documentary was made about Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb; '' Island of Dreams'',

Works

Single novels

*''Too Hot To Handle'' (1982) *''Tomorrow Began Yesterday'' (1982) *''The Devil's Mistress'' (1982) *''Deadly Angel'' (1982) *''Fever Pitch'' (1983) *''Bluebeard's Bride'' (1985) *''Outcast Lovers'' (1985) *''The Heat Is On'' (1988) *''Adult Love'' (1990) *''Desert Destiny'' (1991) *''Forbidden Passion'' (1991) *''Last of the Great French Lovers'' (1992) *''Ruthless Lover'' (1992) *''Confrontation'' (1992) *''Extreme Provocation'' (1993) *''Ungoverned Passion'' (1993) *''Dangerous Desire'' (1994 *''Blue Fire'' (1994) *''Master of Seduction'' (1995) *''An Obsessive Love'' (1995) *''The Dominant Male'' (1996) *''Red Hot Lover'' (1998)

References

External links

Fantasy Fiction Website

Treasure Island Review

Grescoe, Paul, 1998, The Merchants of Venus: Inside Harlequin And The Empire of Romance

San Angelo Standard Times article, Texas – July 2008

San Angelo Standard Times article, Texas – June 2008

San Angelo Standard Times article, Texas – May 2008

San Angelo Standard Times article, Texas – April 2008

San Angelo Live with 2008 photographs

* ttp://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2009/feb/26/viewpoints-british-author-missing-san-angelo/ Artois the Goat SXSW article 2009

EMP Media's celebrity magazine empire flagship at Home Magazine
La Creme Magazine 2011
*
Sarah Holland's Life Story - A Lawman's View

Shakespeare's As You Like It

Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard

Stephen Ward the Musical - review December 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holland, Sarah 1961 births English women novelists English romantic fiction writers Living people People from Folkestone Women romantic fiction writers