Pen name Karyn Monk Genre Romance Occupation Novelist Spouse Philip | Nationality Canadian Name Karyn Monk Period 1994 - 2005 Role Writer | |
 | ||
Books The Witch and the Warrior, Once a Warrior, Surrender to a Stranger, The rose and the warrior, The wedding escape | ||
Karyn Monk is a Canadian best-selling writer of historical romance novels since 1994. Her books have appeared on the USA Today Bestseller List, and have won numerous awards.
Contents
Personal life
Born Karyn Monk, she is the fourth child of John and Lorraine (Spurrell) Monk. Because her parents had expected a boy, they had not chosen a girl's name, and decided to name their new daughter after the delivery room nurse. Neither parent was sure how to spell the name "Karen," though, leading to the unique spelling they chose.
Monk was graduated from university with a degree in History. She planned to work in advertising and in her spare time perform in local musicals. While auditioning for a part in an original musical called "Last Tango in Fargo North Dakota," she met her future husband, Philip, who was that show's music director.
The marriage had three children: Genevieve (b 1998), Carson (b 2001), and Adelaide (b 2005). The family lives in Toronto.
Writing career
With her husband's support, Monk soon left her job in fashion advertising to pursue her dream of writing. After two years of work on her first manuscript, she obtained an agent, who eventually sold her book, "Surrender to a Stranger," to Bantam. The novel was later nominated for Best First Book by Romantic Times. A USAToday bestselling author, Monk has received critical acclaim for her sensual, powerful novels. She has been awarded many honors, including the Aspen Gold, Barclay Gold, the National Readers' Choice Award, and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.
Monk took a break from writing, beginning in 2005, to spend time with her three young children.