Susan Wiggs (born May 17, 1958) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

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 contemporary

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

Early years

Wiggs began writing as a child, finishing her first novel, ''A Book About Some Bad Kids'', when she was eight. She temporarily abandoned her dream of being a novelist after graduating from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, instead becoming a math teacher. She continued to read, especially reveling in

. After running out of reading material one evening in 1983, she began writing again, using the working title ''A Book About Some Bad Adults.''

Career

For three years Wiggs continued to write, and in 1987 Zebra Books published her first novel, a Western

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 ...

named ''Texas Wildflower''. Her subsequent historical and contemporary romances have been set in a wide range of settings and time periods. Many of her novels are set in areas where she's lived or visited. She gave up teaching in 1992 to write full-time, and has since completed an average of two books per year. In 2000, Wiggs began writing single-title women's fiction stories in addition to historical romance novels. The first, ''The You I Never Knew'', was published in 2001. After writing

mass-market The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...

original novels for several years, Wiggs made her

hardcover A hardcover, hard cover, or hardback (also known as hardbound, and sometimes as casebound (At p. 247.)) book is one bookbinding, bound with rigid protective covers (typically of binder's board or heavy paperboard covered with buckram or other clo ...

debut in 2003 with ''Home Before Dark''. Many of her novels are connected, allowing Wiggs to revisit established characters. Her books have been published in many languages, including French, German, Dutch, Latvian,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Hungarian and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Awards

Wiggs's books are frequently named finalists for the RITA Award, the highest honor given in the genre. She received the

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 ...

RITA Award for Best Romance of the year in 1993 for ''Lord of the Night''. She won a second RITA in 2000 when ''The Charm School'' was named "Favorite Book of the Year." She has also won the RITA in 2001 for Best Short Historical for ''The Mistress.'' and in 2006 for ''Lakeside Cottage''. She has also been the recipient of the Holt Medallion, the Colorado Award of Excellence, and the Peninsula Romance Writers of America Blue Boa Award. ''Romantic Times'' has twice named her a Career Achievement Award winner.

Personal

Wiggs lives on

Bainbridge Island, Washington Bainbridge Island is a city and island in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located in Puget Sound. The population was 24,825 at the 2020 census, making Bainbridge Island the second largest city in Kitsap County. The island is s ...

. Her mother maintains her web page.

Bibliography

Stand-alone novels

*''Texas Wildflower'' (1987) *''Briar Rose'' (1987) *''Winds of Glory'' (1988) *''Embrace the Day'' (1988) *''Moonshadow'' (1989) *''The Raven and the Rose'' (1991) *''Lord of the Night'' (1993) *''Miranda'' (1996) *''Merry Christmas, Baby!'' (1996) *''The Lightkeeper'' (1998) *''The Drifter'' (1999) *''Husband for Hire'' (1999) *''The You I Never Knew'' (2001) *''Passing Through Paradise'' (2002) *''Home Before Dark'' (2003) *''Summer by the Sea'' (2004) *''Lakeside Cottage'' (2005) *''Table for Five'' (2005) *''Just Breathe'' (2008) *''The Borrowed Bride'' (2008) *''How I Planned Your Wedding'' (2011) *''The Goodbye Quilt'' (2011) also in The Summer It Begins *''The St. James Affair'' (2014) also in Snowfall in the City *''A Fairytale Christmas'' (2014) *''Island Time'' (2016) *''Map of the Heart'' (2017) *''Between You and Me'' (June 26, 2018) *''The Oysterville Sewing Circle'' (2019) *''Sugar and Salt'' (2022)

Lakeshore Chronicles

Bella Vista Chronicles

Switchback, Vermont

Calhoun Chronicles

Us series

Great Chicago Fire Trilogy

Tudor Rose series

Women of War series

Discovery series

Picture books

*''The Canary Who Sailed with Columbus'' (1989)

Anthologies and collections

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggs, Susan 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American romantic fiction novelists Harvard University alumni Living people RITA Award winners Writers from Bainbridge Island, Washington American women novelists American women romantic fiction writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Novelists from Washington (state) 1958 births Writers of historical romances