Dear Reader,

 

In 1994, when I was 26 years old, my father died. That’s when I realized that life is too short not to try to pursue your dreams. So the day I got home from his funeral, I sent out my first manuscript. It was rejected.

But I kept trying, because as my grandmother always said, “You’re not a hundred dollar bill, not everyone is going to like you!” Five years later, my first historical romance novel, Where Roses Grow Wild, was published under the pen name Patricia Cabot (which I chose so my grandmother, who was very religious, wouldn’t know that I was writing books with love scenes in them).

My “Patricia Cabot” books have since been translated into many languages and have been widely read in multiple countries. Many of them have won awards, and I’ve gone on to become a New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author, with two feature films, a television movie, and a television series based on my work. I was even made a lifetime member of the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll!

I’ve since retired the Patricia Cabot pen name and currently write all my books under my real name. But despite my efforts, my grandmother found out about my Patricia Cabot books anyway … and to my surprise, wasn’t upset at all! She read every one, and became their biggest fan.

 

Meg Cabot