Barbara Elaine Gunter Coffman (born June 19, 1942 in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

) is an American writer of both

historical romance Historical romance is a broad category of mass-market fiction focusing on romantic relationships in historical periods, which Lord Byron, Byron helped popularize in the early 19th century. The genre often takes the form of the novel. Varieties ...

and suspense, writing as Elaine Coffman.

Biography

Elaine Coffman is a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestselling author who has published in both the

and

suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

genres. Her novels take place in Scotland, Regency England, Italy and the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. She is the author of nineteen novels and five novellas.

Personal

Barbara Elaine Gunter was born in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to William Samuel Gunter, Jr., a naval officer and Edna Marie (née Davidson) Gunter, a homemaker. From the age of three. she lived in Midland,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and graduated from Midland High School. Gunter received a degree in elementary education from

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

. She taught elementary school in Midland, Texas, while working on her Master's Degree and certification for Language and Learning Disabilities at

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

Lubbock Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

Writing

Coffman's romances have been noted for their historical research; ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' said, in the review for ''The Italian'', "Coffman renders Italy's plight with the exactitude of a historian." Coffman's first suspense novel, ''Alone in the Dark'', was published by

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...

in 2006.

Awards and honours

Three of Coffman's books have been nominated for Best Historical Romance of the Year by

Romance Writers of America Romance Writers of America (RWA) is an American non-profit writers' association founded in 1980. Its mission is to "advance the professional and common business interests of career-focused romance writers through networking and advocacy and by inc ...

. She has also received the Maggie Award, Reviewers Choice Award, and Best Western Historical Award. ''If You Loved Me'', the last book of Coffman's Mackinnon series, was her first book to hit the ''New York Times'' bestseller list.

Bibliography

Single novels

*''My Enemy, My Love'', 1988, reissue 1991 *''If My Love Could Hold You'', 1989, Dell; Fawcett reissue, 1998 *''For All The Right Reasons'', 1991, Dell; Fawcett reissue *''Somewhere Along The Way'', 1992, Dell *''So This Is Love'', 1993, Fawcett reissue *''Heaven Knows'', 1994, Fawcett Books *''A Time For Roses'', 1995, Fawcett Books *''When Love Comes Along'', 1995, Warner Books *''If You Love Me'', 1997, Fawcett Books *''Someone Like You'', 1997, Fawcett Books *''The Bride of Black Douglas'', 2000, MIRA *''The Fifth Daughter'', 2001, MIRA *''The Italian'', 2002, MIRA *''The Highlander'', 2003, MIRA *''Let Me Be Your Hero'', 2004, MIRA *''By Fire and By Sword'', 2005, MIRA *''Alone in the Dark'', 2006, Pocket Books.

MacKinnon Brothers Series

#''Angel in Marble'', 1991, 1998 #''For All The Right Reasons'', 1991 #''Somewhere Along The Way'', 1992 #''So This Is Love'', 1993, Fawcett Books #''Heaven Knows'', 1994, Fawcett Books #''When Love Comes Along'', 1995, Warner Books #''If You Love Me'', 1997, Fawcett Books.

The Italian Chronicles Series

#''The Fifth Daughter'', 2001 #''The Italian'', 2002.

The Graham-Lenox Family Saga

#''The Highlander'', 2003 #''Let Me Be Your Hero'', 2004 #''By Fire and By Sword'', 2006.

Anthologies

*''The Bride of the Black Scot'', From the Anthology: ''To Have and to Hold'', 1994, Avon Books *''A Ribbon of Moonlight'', From the Anthology, ''Midsummer Nights Madness'', 1995, St. Martin's Press *''The Bride of Blackness Castle'', From the Anthology: 1996, ''Outlaw Brides'', Harlequin; ''The Bride of Blackness Castle'', Reprint Anthology, 2002, ''A Gentleman of Substance'' *''Playing With Fire'', From the Anthology: ''Seeing Fireworks'', 1997 St. Martin's Press *''Under The Mistletoe'', From the Anthology: ''‘Tis The Season'', 1997, Zebra ''Under The Mistletoe'', Reprint Anthology, ''Santa Baby'', 2002, Zebra.

References

External links

Official WebsiteElaine Coffman
at Fantastic Fiction

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Coffman, Elaine 1942 births Living people American romantic fiction writers American women novelists Writers from San Diego American women romantic fiction writers 21st-century American women