Jeane Westin began her writing life as a freelance journalist, then wrote a number of nonfiction books, and finally came to her first and true love, historical novels. She published two novels, with Simon & Schuster and Scribner, in the late 1980s, and after a long hiatus is once again indulging her passion for history. She lives in California with her husband, Gene, near their daughter, Cara, and has been rehabilitating a two-story Tudor cottage complete with dovecote for more than a decade. You can reach her at www.jeanewestin.com.