Lisa Kleypas Biography

At approximately the same time, the 5'2" Kleypas was named Miss Massachusetts. During her competition at the Miss America pageant, Kleypas sang a song she had written, earning her a "talented nonfinalist" award. Kleypas has been a full-time romance writer since selling that first book. Her novels have ranked high on major best-seller lists, sold millions of copies around the globe and have been translated into fourteen different languages. In October 1998, Kleypas's Texas home flooded within a matter of hours after heavy rains inundated their town. She and her family lost everything except the clothes they were wearing and her purse. Within days,her colleagues at Avon sent boxes of clothes and books to help the family recover. For Kleypas, though, the defining moment was the after the flood, when she and her mother (whose home had also flooded), made a quick trip to the store to purchase toothbrushes, clean clothes, and other necessities. Separately, each of them had also chosen a romance novel, a necessity to them in helping them escape the stress they were currently under. To Kleypas, this realization validated her decision to write romance novels instead of more literary works. Though primarily known for her historical romance novels, Kleypas made an announcement in early 2006 concerning her momentary departure from historical romances to delve into the contemporary romance genre. She does plan to write historical romances again in the future. Lisa lives in Washington with her husband, Gregory, and their two children. Awards: 1998 - Waldenbooks Award for greatest sales growth, Someone to Watch Over Me 1999 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, Someone to Watch Over Me 2002 - Romance Writers of American RITA Award finalist, Suddenly You 2002 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award winner for her Christmas anthology novella in Wish List 2002 - Romantic Times Magazine Best Sensuous Historical Romance, Lady Sophia's Lover 2002 - Publishers Weekly starred reviews for Lady Sophia's Lover and When Strangers Marry 2003 - Publishers Weekly starred review, Worth Any Price 2003 - Amazon Editor's Top Ten Picks forBest Romance of 2003, Where's My Hero and Worth Any Price 2004 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award for best Short Historical, Worth Any Price 2004 - Publishers Weekly starred review, Secrets of a Summer Night 2006 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, Short Historical Category, It Happened One Autumn 2007 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist, Short Historical Category, The Devil in Winter and Scandal in Spring