Kaye Dacus is an American author and editor who has been writing

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

for more than twenty years. Her first novel, ''Stand-In Groom'', was published by Barbour Publishing with a release date of January 1, 2009. Subsequent titles in the Bonneterre Brides series are ''Menu for Romance'' (July 2009) and ''A Case for Love'' (Spring 2010).

Background

Dacus was born Katherine Nell Dacus in

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, in 1971. In 1972, her father, an officer in the U.S. Army, was transferred to Ft. Richardson in

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the List of cities in Alaska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of ...

, where the family lived until 1975. From 1975 through 1989, the family lived in New Mexico. Dacus graduated from Las Cruces High School in May 1989. Immediately thereafter, she moved back to Baton Rouge to attend college at Louisiana State University. In 1992, shortly after

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a compact, but very powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures dama ...

, Dacus withdrew from school and moved to

Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the name of an ...

, to live with her parents and work full-time. In 1996, Dacus moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. From 1996 through 2006, she worked in the retail advertising department at

The Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...

newspaper. In 2006, she left the newspaper to work for Ideals Publications, a book publishing company, as an editor. Dacus and others were laid off from the publishing house in July 2008. In May 2004, Dacus graduated from

Trevecca Nazarene University Trevecca Nazarene University (TNU) is a private Nazarene liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1901. History TNU was founded in 1901 by Cumberland Presbyterian minister J. O. McClurkan as the "Pentecostal Literary a ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration on Professional Writing, as a part-time student while working full-time. After graduating, she immediately enrolled in graduate school. In June 2006, she received her Master of Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. Her thesis novel, ''Happy Endings Inc.'', became her first published novel, re-titled ''Stand-In Groom''. In 2001, Dacus joined American Christian Fiction Writers (then, American Christian Romance Writers). In 2004, she was elected to serve the organization as Volunteer Officer, and in 2005, she was elected to serve as Vice President of American Christian Fiction Writers. Due to time commitments from working full-time while also attending graduate school, Dacus resigned as Vice President in October 2005, after the national conference. Dacus is still an active member of ACFW as well as

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 ...

. In 2004, along with three other authors, Dacus co-founded Middle Tennessee Christian Writers. Since then, Dacus has served as the organization's president. She also teaches a two-hour writing workshop at the group's monthly meeting. In addition to being a multiply published author, Dacus works as a freelance editor.

Published works

* ''Stand-In Groom'', Barbour Publishing, 2008 * ''Menu for Romance'', Barbour Publishing, 2009 * ''Ransome's Honor'', Harvest House Publishers, 2009 * ''A Case for Love'' Barbour Publishing, 2010 * ''Ransome's Crossing'', Harvest House Publishers, 2010 * ''Love Remains'', Barbour Publishing, 2010 * ''Ransome's Quest'', Harvest House Publishers, 2011 * ''The Art of Romance,'' Barbour Publishing, 2011 * ''Turnabout's Fair Play'', Barbour Publishing, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dacus, Kaye American romantic fiction writers Trevecca Nazarene University alumni Seton Hill University alumni 1971 births Living people Writers from Baton Rouge, Louisiana People from Chantilly, Virginia