Karen Ranney (February 5, 1963June 15, 2020) was an American author of

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

and

paranormal romance Paranormal romance is a subgenre of both romantic fiction and speculative fiction. Paranormal romance focuses on romantic love and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, from the speculative fiction genres of fantasy, scien ...

novels.

Biography

Ranney (pronounced Rain-ey) was the daughter of an

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

officer and lived in places around the world, including

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. She began writing when she was five. In first grade, she wrote a short story called "The Maple Leaf," which was chosen to be read over the school intercom. After writing her first novel, ''Above All Others'', Ranney found an agent. While her agent was trying to find a publisher willing to purchase the novel, Ranney continued writing, finishing ''Tapestry'' and beginning to write a third novel, ''A Promise of Love.'' Approximately three years after she had begun writing the first novel,

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

agreed to purchase both of Ranney's completed works as well as the novel in progress. Most of Ranney's novels are set in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and feature "believable characters, careful plotting, and simmering sexual tension." She was nominated nine times for a ''Romantic Times'' Reviewers' Choice Award and won a ''Romantic Times'' Career Achievement Award in 2002 for British-set Historical Romance. In 2014 Ranney began writing the paranormal romance series ''The Montgomery Chronicles'', which center on a newly and unwillingly turned female vampire, and in 2016 began writing a spinoff series, ''The Furry Chronicles''. Ranney's books have been on the USA Today Bestseller List as well as the New York Times Bestseller List. On June 15, 2020, it was announced that Ranney had died. Her death was announced by her publisher, Avon Books.

Works

Loved Series

# ''My beloved'' (1999) # ''My true love'' (2000)

Highland Lords Series

# ''One Man's Love'' (2001) # ''When the Laird Returns'' (2002) # ''The Irresistible MacRae'' (2002) # ''To Love a Scottish Lord'' (2003) # ''So in Love'' (2004)

The Montgomery Chronicles

# ''The Fertile Vampire'' (2014) # ''The Reluctant Goddess'' (2015) # ''Pranic, Pregnant, and Petrified'' (2015)

The Furry Chronicles

# ''The Lottery - Furry'' (2016)

The All For Love Series

# ''To Love a Duchess'' (2018) # ''To Wed an Heiress'' (2019) # ''To Bed the Bride'' (2019)https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44298194-to-bed-the-bride

Novels

* ''Tapestry'' (1995) * ''Above All Others'' (1996) * ''A Promise of Love'' (1997) * ''My Wicked Fantasy'' (1998) * ''Heaven Forbids'' (1998) * ''Upon a Wicked Time'' (1998) * ''After the Kiss'' (2000) * ''Till Next We Meet'' (2005) * ''Autumn in Scotland'' (2006) * ''An Unlikely Governess'' (2006) * ''The Scottish Companion'' (2007) * ''The Devil Wears Tartan'' (2008) * ''A Scotsman in Love'' (2009) * ''Sold to a Laird'' (2009) *''A Highland Duchess'' (2010) *''A Borrowed Scot'' (2011)

Omnibus

* ''Angel Love'' (1996) (with Janice Bennett, Mallory Burgess, Elizabeth Graham, Constance Laux,

Patricia McAllister Patricia is a feminine given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word '' patrician'', meaning 'noble', it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. Another well-known variant is Patrice. According to the US Social Securi ...

, Doreen Owens Malek and John Scognamiglio) * ''After Midnight'' (1998) (with Colleen Faulkner, Carol Finch) * ''Scottish Brides'' (1999) (with Christina Dodd,

Stephanie Laurens Stephanie Laurens (born in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka), is a best-selling Australian author of romance novels. Biography Stephanie Laurens was born on 14 August 1953 in Sri Lanka. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, where she was raised ...

Julia Quinn Julie Pottinger (née Cotler; born January 12, 1970), better known by her pen name, Julia Quinn, is an American author. Her novels have been translated into 41 languages and have appeared on The New York Times Bestseller List, ''The New York Times ...

)

References

External links

Audible page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranney, Karen 2020 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American romantic fiction writers American women novelists Place of death missing Novelists from Texas 1963 births