Roberta Helmer (July 19, 1950 – May 21, 2018), under her pseudonym Christina Skye, was the

best-selling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cook ...

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of more than thirty-two novels in a variety of genres: romantic suspense, paranormal romance, as well as contemporary and historical romances. Many of her books have appeared on the ''

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'' and New York Times bestseller lists and the ''Publishers Weekly'' bestseller list. Her books have been translated into ten languages. Under her own name Helmer has written five non-fiction books about the classical Chinese puppet theater and traditional Chinese folk arts.

Biography

Roberta Helmer was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater ...

, a descendant of

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hero

Adam Helmer Adam Frederick Helmer ( 1754 – April 9, 1830), also known as John Adam Frederick Helmer and Hans Adam Friedrich Helmer, was an American Revolutionary War hero among those of the Mohawk Valley and surrounding regions of New York State. He wa ...

. She attended the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

, where she learned to speak fluent

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, and

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. After receiving a

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in classical Chinese literature from Ohio State, Helmer became a translator, and was once nearly arrested when her European employer asked her to escort two ladies of dubious virtue into China's State Guest House. She later worked as a consultant to the

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and the American Museum of Natural History. Helmer's first writing attempts focuses on Chinese art and culture. After numerous interviews with puppeteers, sculptors, painters, and other artists who explained some of their centuries-old skills, Helmer wrote four non-fiction books. Her first historical romance, a Regency, was rejected by the first editor who received it because it did not strictly adhere to the current Regency convention. The following week, two other editors asked to represent her, and that first novel sold in 1990 in only six days. She has since authored five additional historical romances, nine contemporary romantic suspense novels, and seven paranormal romances. Helmer's novels, which are always laced with humor and passion, feature smart, stubborn women and tough men who embark on adventures. Many of her historical romances tell stories about outsiders who must struggle to fit in. Her novels are popular worldwide, and have been translated into eight languages. Two of her novels in the Code Name series, ''Code Name: Baby'' and ''Code Name: Princess'', were selected as ''Cosmopolitan'' Magazine Book Club Selections and ''Code Name: Baby'' was named the Borders Best Romance of 2005. She has been nominated multiple times for the

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RITA Award, and is a two-time finalist for the National Reader's Choice Award. ''Romantic Times Magazine'' gave her a Career Achievement Award, and she has been nominated for numerous other Romantic Times Awards for various novels. In 2005 Helmer was inducted into the ''Affaire de Coeur'' Hall of Fame for her "pioneering efforts..and ability to remain a steadfast influence in women's fiction." She lived in on the western slopes of McDowell Mountains in

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Bibliography

Non-fiction

*''The Poems of the Han-shan collection'' (1977) *''China's Crafts : The Story of How They're Made and What They Mean'' (1980) *''China's Puppets'' (1984) *''Shopping in China : arts, crafts, and the unusual'' (1986)

As Christina Skye

Regency Era

#''Defiant Captive'' (1990) #''The Black Rose'' (1991) #''East of Forever'' (1993)

DeLamere

#''Come the Night'' (1994) #''Come the Dawn'' (1995)

Draycott Abbey

#''Hour of the Rose'' (1994) #''Bride of the Mist'' (2004) #''Bridge of Dreams'' (1995) #''Key to Forever'' (1997) #''Season of Wishes'' (1997) #''Enchantment'' (1998) #''Christmas Knight'' (1998) #''The Perfect Gift'' (1999) *''Bridge of Dreams / Enchantment'' (2007)

Navy SEALs

#''Going Overboard'' (2001) #''My Spy'' (2002) #''Hot Pursuit'' (2003)

Code Name

#''Nanny'' (2004) #''Princess'' (2004) #''Baby'' (2005) #''Blondie'' (2006) #''Bikini'' (2007)

Single novels

*''The Ruby'' (1992) *''2000 Kisses'' (1999)

Anthologies in collaboration

*''Haunting Love Stories'' (1991) (with

Shannon Drake Shannon may refer to: People * Shannon (given name) * Shannon (surname) * Shannon (American singer), stage name of singer Shannon Brenda Greene (born 1958) * Shannon (South Korean singer), British-South Korean singer and actress Shannon Arrum Will ...

Betina Krahn Betina Krahn (born Huntington, West Virginia) is a RITA Award winning and New York Times best-selling author of historical romance novels. Biography Early years Krahn, born Betina Maynard, is the second daughter of Dors Maynard and Regina Tr ...

Linda Lael Miller Linda Lael Miller (born 1949 as Linda Lael), is a best-selling American author of more than 100 contemporary and historical romance novels. She has also written under the pen name Lael St. James. Personal life Linda Lael was born in 1949 in Was ...

)

References and sources

External links

Biography in HarperCollinsAuthors. Christina SkyeList of books in Fantastic Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmer, Roberta Ohio State University alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni American romantic fiction novelists Women romantic fiction writers Writers of historical romances Writers from Dayton, Ohio 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Ohio 1950 births 2018 deaths