Shana Abé is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Pre ...

s. She is a past winner of the ''Romantic Times'' Career Achievement Award and has won numerous ''Romantic Times'' Reviewers' Choice Awards.

Biography

Shana Abé was born in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. She spent much of her childhood living in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, with a brief stint in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

as a foreign exchange student, and, at age seventeen, lived in Japan as a model. Throughout her childhood, Abé wrote, completing what she calls "The Silliest Romance Novel Ever" during her free time during modeling shoots. Her writing focused on

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, as those were the types of books that she most enjoyed reading. She later attended college in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, graduating with a degree in drama. Her second novel, also a contemporary romance, took third place in a writing contest. She sent the book to several prospective agents, many of which responded with questions similar to "Nice voice — but what line are you writing for?" Unwilling to try to fit her writing into some of the rules that governed contemporary romances, Abé chose to concentrate on

historical romances Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Walter Scott helped popularize in the early 19th century. Varieties Viking These books feature Vikings during the Da ...

. For her first attempt at a historical romance, the newlywed Abé chose to tell the story of her own romance with her husband, set in medieval times. The manuscript was purchased by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

and published as ''A Rose in Winter.'' Many of Abé's subsequent novels have also been set in the medieval time period. Abé chose the time period because of its "great sense of dichotomy....It inspires thoughts of grandeur, of courtly grace and chivalrous knights — but at the same time there's a gritty, raw aspect to the period that just cannot be denied." Abé has received the ''Romantic Times'' Career Achievement Award, and has been nominated six times for ''Romantic Times'' Reviewers' Choice Awards, winning twice.

Bibliography

Standalone novels

*''A Rose in Winter'' (1998) *''The Promise of Rain'' (1998) *''The Truelove Bride'' (1999) *''Intimate Enemies'' (2000) *''A Kiss at Midnight'' (2000) *''The Secret Swan'' (2001) *''The Last Mermaid'' (2004)

Drákon series

*''The Smoke Thief'' (2005) *''The Dream Thief'' (2006) *''Queen of Dragons'' (2007) *''The Treasure Keeper'' (2009) *''The Time Weaver'' (2010)

''The Sweetest Dark'' series

*''The Sweetest Dark'' (April 2013) *''The Deepest Night'' (August 2013) *'' The Fiercest Joy'' (February 2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Shana American romantic fiction novelists Living people American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people) American historical novelists Women historical novelists Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages