Erica James (born 1960) is a British writer of twenty-four best-selling

romance novel A romance or romantic novel is a genre fiction novel that primarily focuses on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, typically with an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending. Authors who have contributed ...

s. In 2006, her novel ''Gardens of Delight'' won the

Romantic Novel of the Year Award The Romantic Novel of the Year Award is an award for romance novels since 1960, presented by Romantic Novelists' Association, and since 2003, the novellas, also won the Love Story of the Year (now RoNA Rose Award). Winners Romantic Novel of th ...

from the

Romantic Novelists' Association The Romantic Novelists' Association (RNA) is the professional body representing authors of romantic fiction in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1960 by Denise Robins (first president), Barbara Cartland (first vice-president), Vivian Stua ...

., having been short-listed four times previously. James has an international following and has been translated into thirteen languages, with the Norwegian edition of Summer at the Lake, ‘Alt i et Oyeblikk’, being recognized as a No.1 bestseller in Norway.

Biography

Born in 1960 in

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, England, she grew up on

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island, later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st cent ...

, Hampshire. Currently divorced, she has two grown-up sons, Edward and Samuel, and two grandchildren. She lives in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. She began writing after attending a creative writing course with the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

and had her first novel, ‘A Breath of Fresh Air’ published in 1996, reaching the Sunday Times bestseller list on the same year. As of 2022, she has sold in excess of five million copies of her novels.

Bibliography

Single novels

* ''A Breath of Fresh Air'' (1996) * ''Time for a Change'' (1997) * ''Airs and Graces'' (1997) * ''A Sense of Belonging'' (1998) * ''Act of Faith'' (1999) * ''The Holiday'' (2000) * ''Precious Time'' (2001) * ''Hidden Talents'' (2002) * ''Paradise House'' (2003) * ''Love and Devotion'' (2004) * ''Gardens of Delight'' (2005) * ''Tell It to the Skies'' (2007) * ''It's the Little Things'' (2008) * ''The Queen of New Beginnings'' (2010) * ''Promises, Promises'' (2010) * ''The Real Katie Lavender'' (2011) * ''The Hidden Cottage'' (2013) * ''Summer at the Lake'' (2014) * ''The Dandelion Years'' (2015) * ''Song of the Skylark'' (2016) * ''Coming Home to Island House'' (2018) * ''Swallowtail Summer'' (2019) * ''Letters from the Past'' (2020) * ''Mothers and Daughters'' (2022)

Anthologies in collaboration

* ''What A Woman Wants'' (2006) (with Donna Hay and Maureen Lee)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Erica 1960 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers British women romantic fiction writers English romantic fiction writers English women novelists People from Hayling Island RoNA Award winners Writers from Hampshire Writers from Surrey