Occupation Writer, Novelist Role Author Name Eileen Dreyer | Period 1986 - present Nationality American | |
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Pen name Eileen Dreyer
Kathleen Korbel Genre contemporary romance, romantic suspense, Historical romance, paranormal romance, Notable awards RITA award – Best Long Contemporary Series
1990 The Ice Cream Man
RITA award – Best Romantic Suspense
1990 Perchance to Dream
RITA award – Best Single Title Contemporary
1992 A Man to Die For
RITA award – Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
1992 A Rose for Maggie
RITA award – Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
1995 A Soldier's Heart Books Dangerous Temptation, Deadly Redemption, A rose for Maggie, The Unfortunate Miss Fort, A soldier's heart Similar People Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart, Heather Graham Pozzessere, Elizabeth Engstrom, Emilie Richards | ||
Eileen Dreyer is a New York Times bestselling American author of contemporary romance, historical romance and suspense and also publishes under the pen name Kathleen Korbel. She is a five-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award and in 1995 was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. In 2014, she competed on the TV game show Jeopardy!.
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Biography
Dreyer was born in St. Louis, Missouri and at the age of nineteen she began work as a trauma nurse.
She is trained in forensic nursing and death investigation and lives in Brentwood, Missouri with her husband and children. Her great-grandfather was a member of the IRA.
She published her first novel as Kathleen Korbel in 1986, writing for Harlequin's Silhouette category imprint. She said that "as a trauma nurse...she enjoyed writing romance because she liked to see good things happen to people, and scripting the story, she could be sure of that." Having grown up in a non-dysfunctional family, she said that working in the ER helped to how her the definition of a hero. "It constantly amazes me the people I've met who have had terrible things happen to them, but who live their lives well, loving and nurturing those around them. Those are my heroes. People who survive, who thrive, who triumph when there is no way they should."
Dreyer was a contestant on the October 30, 2014 episode of Jeopardy!, though she didn't win. She credited her ability to make it on the show and compete with reading a wide range of genres, but especially romance -- "I think I picked up the best information from romance." This was especially true for Final Jeopardy!. As she related in an interview, "So the Final Jeopardy! category was English Monarchs, and I had to place my bet before I knew the answer. I had $6,400 at the time. I bet $6,200 because I had a strong feeling after my own history with historical romance, I would know this one. The answer was, 'The name of two kings, fifth and eighth, who were notable for being king but not crowned.' (Cue music.) And yes, I knew that the two kings, one of the boys Richard III allegedly killed in the Tower, and the king who abdicated for Wallace Simpson, were named Edward. I didn't win. Unfortunately, the other two players knew it, too. But I knew the answer. And I knew it because I read and write historical romance."