Thomas Elmer Huff (January 8, 1938 – January 16, 1990) was a
best-selling
A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, coo ...
American author of 23
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
and
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 ...
as T. E. Huff and Tom E. Huff and under the female
pen names
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Edwina Marlow, Beatrice Parker, Katherine St. Clair, and Jennifer Wilde.
Careers
Thomas Elmer Huff was born on January 8, 1938, in
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 U.S. census population of 2,110,640, making it the third-most populous county in Texas and the 15th-most populous in the United States. Its county seat is Fort Worth. ...
, United States. He graduated from Poly High School and from Texas Wesleyn College in 1960. He spent several years as English teacher at
R. L. Paschal High School before becoming a novelist.
He wrote
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language
** Gothic ( ...
novels for nine years under the pseudonyms Edwina Marlow, Beatrice Parker, T. E. Huff, and Katherine St. Clair.
In 1976, Huff adopted the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Jennifer Wilde when he began writing
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 ...
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. His first release, ''Love's Tender Fury'', had 41 printings in its first five years, and his second historical romance, ''Dare to Love'', spent 11 weeks on ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' paperback bestseller list.
His historical romances were noted for being written in
first person, from the heroine's perspective.
Many of his books also featured multiple male protagonists, and "the man who first captures the heroine's heart isn't always the one who ends up with it."
Huff earned a Career Achievement Award in 1987–1988 from ''Romantic Times.''
Huff died suddenly of a massive heart failure on 16 January 1990 in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, where he was buried.
Bibliography
Some of his novels are reedited under the pseudonym of Jennifer Wilde or under different titles.
As Edwina Marlow
Single novels
*''The Master of Phoenix Hall'' (1968)
*''Falconridge'' (1969)
*''When Emmalyn Remembers'' (1970)
*''The Lady of Lyon House'' (1970)
*''Danger At Dahlkari'' (1975)
*''Midnight At Mallyncourt'' (1975)
As Beatrice Parker
Single novels
*''Come to Castlemoor'' (1970)
*''Betrayal At Blackcrest'' (1971)
*''Stranger By the Lake'' (1971)
*''Wherever Lynn Goes'' (1975)
*''Jamintha'' (1975)
As T. E. Huff
Single novels
*''Nine Bucks Row'' (1973) aka ''Susannah, Beware''
*''Meet a Dark Stranger'' (1974) aka ''Whisper in the Darkness''
As Katherine St. Clair
Single novel
*''Room Beneath the Stairs'' (1975)
As Jennifer Wilde
Marietta Danver Trilogy
#''Love's Tender Fury'' (1976)
#''Love Me, Marietta'' (1981)
#''When Love Commands'' (1984)
Single novels
*''Dare to Love'' (1978)
*''Once More, Miranda'' (1983)
*''Angel in Scarlet'' (1986)
*''The Slipper'' (1987)
*''They Call Her Dana'' (1989)
As Tom E. Huff
Single novel
*''Marabelle'' (1980)
See also
List of romantic novelists
Notable novelists who specialise or specialised in writing 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 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huff, Tom E.
20th-century American novelists
American male novelists
American romantic fiction writers
1938 births
1990 deaths
20th-century American male writers
Novelists from Texas
People from Tarrant County, Texas