Rochelle Alers (born August 7, 1943) is an American writer of

romance novel A romance novel or romantic novel generally refers to a type of genre fiction novel which places its primary focus on the relationship and Romance (love), romantic love between two people, and usually has an "emotionally satisfying and optimis ...

s. She has also written under the pen names Susan James and Rena McLeary.

Biography

Rochelle Alers was born on August 7, 1943 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, New York, where she was also raised. After earning degrees in sociology and psychology, she taught pre-school for a time before entering the business world. Alers began writing her first novel in 1984, after a decade of reading romance novels. She finished her first manuscript, the novel ''Hideway'', in 1985. After several rejections because her work did not fit the formula of a category romance novel, Alers perfected her style and was first published by

Doubleday Books Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897 and was the largest in the United States by 1947. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed th ...

in 1988. Almost two million copies of her novels are now in print, and they have regularly appeared on the Waldenbooks, Borders, and ''Essence'' bestseller lists. She has been awarded the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She writes full-time currently after retiring from her job as a Community Liaison Specialist for a state funded abuse program in Long Island.

Bibliography

As Rochelle Alers

Single novels

*''Careless Whispers'', (1988) *''My Love's Keeper'', (1991) *''Happily Ever After'', (1994) *''Home Sweet Home'', (1996) *''Reckless Surrender'', (1997) *''Gentle Yearning'', (1998) *''Summer Magic'', (1999) *''A Younger Man'', (2002) *''Secrets Never Told'', (2003) *''Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer'', (2004) *''All My Tomorrows'', (2005) *''A Time to Keep'', (2006) *''Pleasure Seekers'', (2007) *''After Hours'', (2008) *''Naughty'', (2009) *''Butterfly'', (2010)

The Hideaway Series

The Hideaway Series has started to be reissued on the Harlequin brand.

=Prequels

= #''Best-Kept Secrets'' (2010) Reissue 2010

=First Generation

= #''Hideaway'' (1995) Reissue 2009 #''Hidden Agenda'' (1997) Reissue 2009 #''Vows'' (1997) Reissue 2010 #''Heaven Sent'' (1998) Reissue 2010

=Daughters and Sisters Trilogy

= #''Harvest Moon'' (1999) Reissue 2011 #''Just Before Dawn'' (2000) #''Private Passions'' (2001) #''Stranger in My Arms'' (2007) #''Breakaway''(2010)

=Sons and Brothers Trilogy

= #''No Compromise'' (2002) Reissue 2009 #''Homecoming'' (2002) #''Renegade'' (2003) #''Secret Agenda'' (2009)

The Whitfields of New York

#''Long Time Coming'' (2008) #''The Sweetest Temptation''(2008) #''Taken By Storm''(2008)

The Best Men Trilogy

#''Man of Fate'' (2009) #''Man of Fortune'' (2009) #''Man of Fantasy'' (2009)

The Blackstones of Virginia

#''The Long Hot Summer'' (2004) #''Very Private Duty'' (2004) #''Beyond Business'' (2005)

The Eatons

#''Bittersweet Love'', (2009) #''Sweet Deception'', (2009) #''Sweet Dreams'', (2010) #''Twice The Temptation'', (2010) #''Sweet Persuasions'', (2011) #''Sweet Destiny'', (2011)

Wainwright Legacy

#''Because of You'', (2010) #''Here I Am'', (2011)

Collections

#''More Than Just Words, Vol. 6'', (2010)

Anthologies in collaboration

*"''Fresh Fruits''" in ''Holiday Cheer'' (with

Angela Benson Angela may refer to: Places * Angela, Montana * Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida * Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan * Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River Fiction * Ange ...

and

Shirley Hailstock Shirley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë * ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film * ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American film * ''Shirley'' (album), a 1961 album by Shirley Bas ...

) 1995/12 *"''Hearts of gold''" in ''Love Letters'' (with

Donna Hill Donna Hill is an American author of romance, mystery, and women's fiction. She has written over seventy novels, twenty short stories, and edited multiple anthologies. Three of Hill's novels (''Intimate Betrayal, Masquerade, A Private Affair'') ...

and

Janice Sims Janice may refer to: * Janice (given name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) * '' Janice & Abbey'', a reality TV series * Processor codename of the Samsung Galaxy S Advance Android smartphone * Janice, Łódź Voiv ...

) 1997/02 *Novella in ''Rosie's Curl and Weave'' (with

Felicia Mason Felicia Mason (born May 8, 1962) is an African-American novelist and journalist born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, United States. She is best known for writing in the romance genre. Her novel ''Rhapsody'' was adapted into a television movie in 200 ...

and

Francis Ray Francis Ray (July 20, 1944 – July 3, 2013) was a ''New York Times'' and ''USA Today'' bestselling African-American writer of romance novels. Her literary fiction series – Taggart and Falcon, the Invincible Women, Grayson Family of New Mexico, ...

) 1999/02 *Novella in ''Island Magic'' (with

Marcia King-Gamble Marcia may refer to: People * Marcia (given name) * James Marcia, Canadian psychologist * Stefano Marcia (born 1993), South African Olympic sailor Other uses * ''Marcia'' (Beccafumi), a c. 1519 painting by Domenico Beccafumi * ''Marcia'' (biva ...

and

) 2000/02 *"''Sweet Surrender''" in ''Della's House of Style'' (with

and

) 2000/07 *Novella in ''Welcome to Leo's'' (with

Brenda Jackson Brenda Jackson (February 2, 1953) is an American novelist who writes contemporary multicultural romance novels. She was the first African-American author to have a novel published as part of the Silhouette Desire line, and has seen many of her n ...

and

) 2000/12 *"''Stand-in bride''" in ''Going to the Chapel'' (with Gwynne Forster,

and

) 2001/06 *"''First Fruits''" in Tis the Season'' (with

and

Candice Poarch Candice is a given name and a variant spelling of the name Candace. People Notable people with the name include: * Candice Accola, American actress ('' The Vampire Diaries'') *Candice Carty-Williams, British writer * Candice Bergen, American ac ...

) 2001/10 *"''From the Heart''" in ''Island Bliss'' (with Carmen Green,

and

) 2002/02 *"''Anniversary''" in ''Twilight Moods'' 2002/09 *"''Reunion''" in ''Living Large'' (with

and

) 2003/01 *"''Summer Madness''" in ''Four Degrees of Heat'' (with

ReShonda Tate Billingsley ReShonda Tate is an American author and journalist. Tate is also known as "ReShonda Tate Billingsley." Career Tate has authored over 50 books, and has contributed to several anthologies. Currently, she writes historical fiction. She previously w ...

Brenda L. Thomas Brenda is a feminine given name in the English language. Origin The overall accepted origin for the female name Brenda is the Old Nordic male name ''Brandr'' meaning both ''torch'' and ''sword'': evidently the male name Brandr took root in area ...

and Crystal Lacey Winslow) 2004/07 *"''Love Lessons''" in ''Let's Get it On'' (with

and

) 2004/11 *''Lost in Sensation'' & ''Very Private Duty'' (with Maureen Child) 2005/01 *''The Long Hot Summer'' with ''Private Indiscretions'' by Susan Crosby 2005/02 *''Very Private Duty'' with ''Beyond Control'' by Bronwyn Jameson) 2005/07 *''Rules of Attraction'' & ''Beyond Business'' (with Susan Crosby) 2005/07 *"''A Younger Man''" in ''When You Least Expect It'' (with

) 2005/09 *"''Shepherd Moon''" in ''A Season of Miracles'' (with

Adrianne Byrd Adrianne Janette Byrd (born November 23, 1970- October 30, 2020) was a best-selling African-American author of more than 50 romance novels. Her most widely held book, ''The Beautiful Ones'', is in more than 400 WorldCat libraries. Biography Byrd ...

Kayla Perrin Kayla Perrin (possibly born in 1973) is a Jamaican-born Canadian author and actor who has written romance novels, children's books, and suspense novels. "She has received an Arts Acclaim Award for her writing from the city of Brampton Brampton ...

and

) 2005/10 *''Beyond Business'' with ''Apache Nights'' by Sheri Whitefeather 2006/09

Nonfiction

*''Getting Political: Stories of a Woman Mayor'' (2002) (with

Alice Crozier Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

and

Joan Darrah Joan Darrah is an activist for LGBT rights, specifically the end of the "don't ask don't tell" (DADT) policy, which prohibited gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members from being open about their sexual orientation. Darrah joined the Navy in 1 ...

)

As Susan James

Single novels

*''Reckless Surrender'' 1997/04

References

External links

Rochelle Alers Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alers, Rochelle African-American novelists American romantic fiction writers African-American women writers Writers from Manhattan Living people 1943 births American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from New York (state) 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American writers