Anyone who talks to me about my writing for five minutes–okay, maybe even just one or two–knows how influential my grandmother was in nurturing my love for historical romance. Grandmom is a large part of why this website exists, in a way, since she is part of my journey to becoming a historical romance reader–and thus, a published author as well.

Would I have begun reading historical romance on my own anyway? I’m certain I would have, but my introduction as a young teenager to Signet Regencies meant my life had even more fabulous bookish conversations with Grandmom than I might otherwise have enjoyed. She was an avid reader and a night owl like me. While everyone else slept, we had amazing conversations in the wee hours about books, life, love … Anything and everything, really.

We’d also dream about writing our own Regency romances. And while she had no direct hand in shaping The Spy and the Nightingale or the other manuscripts in progress, I feel like her hand is nonetheless in it.