Lorraine Heath

Biography

Heath was born in Watford, Hertfordshire, England from an American father and a British mother. Her parents met while her a father was stationed at Bovingdon while serving in the air force. Shortly after Heath's birth, her family moved to Texas where she was raised in Angleton, Texas.

She earned a BA in psychology from the University of Texas and lived in Austin, Texas for sixteen years before moving to Plano, Texas in 1987. In 1998, Laura Bush, then First Lady of Texas, invited Heath to serve on a romance panel at the Texas Book Festival.

She wrote training manuals and computer code for the IRS before she turned to fiction writing when she picked up LaVyrle Spencer’s Morning Glory which hooked her not only on Spencer's work, but convinced her that she wanted to write romance. She said up until then she "...had a preconception of what romance was." In 1993, she sold her first novel, Sweet Lullaby. Since then, she's authored over sixty novels, with historical and contemporary romance for adults and historical romance for teen readers. Under the names Rachel Hawthorne and Jade Parker, she writes popular contemporary, historical, and paranormal romance for teens readers. She also writes young adult with her son Alex under the name J. A. London.

In an interview with USA Today, she revealed how she keeps her writing personas separate, "...it helps that I write my historicals in third person and my YA in first so it's a mental shift when I'm writing a particular genre. Writing with my son is a bit more challenging because we wanted J.A. to have a unique voice that was edgier to go with our dystopian world and he's often marking words or phrases that he thinks sounds too Rachel-ish. It's rather like going on a mini-vacation when I slip between the genres. I think it helps to keep my writing fresh because I'm able to go in diverse directions and explore various worlds."

She named the following authors as inflential in her young adult writing: Richelle Mead, Sophie Jordan, Marissa Meyer, but mostly Catherine Clark. "When I first became interested in writing Young Adult, I read her books to get a flavoring for the YA genre. Then I was reading her simply because I enjoyed her stories so much."

She's known for her "deeply emotional romances" and "deft characterizations, attention to historical detail and mastery of small moments."

Her writing habits include writing late at night and listening to a CD of a thunderstorm. "It narrows my focus so it's just me, the story, and the thunder." When her novel A Matter of Temptation reached the New York Times bestseller list, she recalls "I had been out walking the dog and I came in and there was a message on the machine. It said, 'My dear, you've hit the New York Times.' Actually, my husband thought somebody had died because I was screaming and crying... It's something that all authors aspire to do so it's ... it's nice when it happens."

She relates the inspiration for her RITA-winning novel Always to Remember in an interview. "While watching a PBS special on the Civil War, a comment was made that often men from the same town served in the same unit so if a unit was wiped out, the town had no men to return to it. It mentioned how hard this was on the townspeople... I began to wonder, what if only one man returned and everyone thought he was a coward since he survived, but he really wasn't? And what if the town wanted a memorial, and he was the only one with the skills to make it? And the story began to develop from there."

In 2015, publisher Avon Books and independent bookstore Powell's Books started a new romance-author curated list of four books called "Mutual Attractions". The third collaboration was released on June 1, 2015 by Heath, and her short list consisted of Jennifer Bernard's All of Me, Kathleen Baldwin's A School for Unusual Girls, Kristen Callihan's Evernight, and Sarah MacLean's No Good Duke Goes Unpunished.

Heath currently resides in Plano with her husband and two sons.

As Lorraine Heath

Heath has also received multiple starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and multiple Top Picks from Romantic Times Book Review. She's also a five-time RITA Award finalist.

Multiple titles hit the USA Today list, including Lord of Wicked Intentions, As an Earl Desires, When the Duke Was Wicked, The Duke and the Lady in Red, An Invitation to Seduction, Promise Me Forever, Love With a Scandalous Lord, In Bed With the Devil, To Marry an Heiress, Passions of a Wicked Earl, Never Marry a Cowboy, Surrender to the Devil, Waking Up With the Duke, She Tempts the Duke, and Lord of Temptation

Always to Remember

RITA Award-winning novel Always to Remember was called by Publishers Weekly "With its unconventional, heart-wrenching hero, this slow-building story plays on every emotion-guilt, anger, honor and, ultimately, love." Romantic Times said "The beautiful prose, the author's depth of understanding for her characters and her absolutely consistent focus on theme raise this love story to the status of poetry. If you want to understand how love heals, how names carved in stone like those on the Vietnam War Memorial can uplift the wounded hearts of both survivors and war protesters, read this unforgettable book."

Scandalous Gentlemen of St. James

Romance author Sarah MacLean called When the Duke Was Wicked "a perfect read, full of tears and sighs and a heroine who is shocked by her own strength." Kirkus Reviews said it was "A sparkling, emotionally powerful historical romance that satisfyingly deals with physical and spiritual damage." Publishers Weekly said "Heath follows formula with a minimum of period detail or plausibility, particularly with regard to medical matters, and a maximum of swooping dialogue about Grace’s “situation most dire” and the hilariously named villain, Lord Vexley." Whereas Library Journal called it "exquisitely rendered, with two friends parrying and deflecting in order to protect themselves from pain and heartbreak. Featuring couples revived from the author’s 'Scoundrels of St. James' series, this fully fleshed romance will stay with readers long after the final page."

Kirkus Reviews called The Duke and the Lady in Red "A beautiful, unconventional romance that entwines two fierce, lonely hearts who believed they were unlovable and reminds us of the best and worst of human nature." Publishers Weekly said "Heath excels at writing passionate romantic tension, and this emotional page-turner showcases her stunning ability to delve into the characters’ innermost souls." USA Today said "This book starts with such great chemistry and sexual tension...A really well-done story."

Scoundrels of St. James

As of June 2015, the only 3-star review Heath earned from Romantic Times Book Reviews was for The Last Wicked Scoundrel, in which they felt the romance was "sometimes overshadowed by the chilling mystery at the heart of the story, and fans of the series may wish for more cameos by Heath’s scoundrels, in a happier setting."

Lost Lords of Pembrook

On February 19, 2012, she made #33 on The New York Times bestseller list with She Tempts the Duke Publishers Weekly said "the middle meanders ...[and] [t]he conclusion is predictable, but Heath excels at depicting the lovers’ initial courtship and relationship building." Whereas Romantic Times called it "powerful story of retribution and salvation. Heath’s talent for creating memorable characters comes to the forefront within a classic plotline that pits good against evil."

A Matter of Temptation reached the New York Times bestseller list when it came out.

English Rogues in Texas Series

Publishers Weekly said of Never Love a Cowboy "A sub-plot involving a little girl may seem a bit too convenient, but it is one of Heath's strengths to take a standard plot point and make it new and vital. Though these characters are somewhat larger than life than those earlier in her career, Heath has more than enough talent to handle them."

London's Greatest Lovers

Publishers Weekly said of Waking Up With the Duke "While the eventual outcome is predictable, the sensitive handling of Jayne and Walfort's challenging relationship and the impressive tangle of love, guilt, and secrets will please those who prefer fiery love scenes balanced by complex emotional drama."

Dark Guardian

In a review of Moonlight, Donna Rosenblum of School Library Journal stated that "Hawthorne expertly weaves romance with the supernatural, cloaking them with danger and suspense." She concluded that the story "ends a little too neatly and at times seems a bit rushed. However, the author does a good job giving readers a natural view of the legends and myths behind werewolves and their evolution." The Compulsive Reader labeled Moonlight "an absorbing and quick read," noting that werewolves were often overlooked in YA fiction. The review stated that the novel was "a little predictable at the very beginning," but went on to call it "a very engaging and brisk read that will appeal to reluctant readers and even has a couple of mildly surprising twists as the book works its way up to the climax."