HEATH, Lorraine 1954-

PERSONAL: Born January 14, 1954, in Watford, Here-fordshire, England; daughter of Curtis Rayburn and Lily Elizabeth (Gurney) Heath. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: University of Texas at Austin, B.A., 1976.

ADDRESSES: Office—P.O. Box 250034, Plano, TX 75025-0034. E-mail—Lorriane-Heath@comcast.net.

CAREER: Romance novelist, 1993—. Member of writers' panels and speaker at libraries, readers' groups, and conferences.

MEMBER: Romance Writers of America, Dallas Area Romance Authors, Novelists Inc.

AWARDS, HONORS: Booklovers Award for Bestselling Americana, 1994; Reviewers Choice Award and Knight in Shining Silver Award, Romantic Times; ROMY Award for Best Americana Historical; Favorite First Book Award, Puget Sound Romance Readers; Career Achievement Award, Romantic Times, 1994-95; Reader's voice selection for best historical romance, 1996; HOLT Medallion for short historical, 1997; RWA Rita Award, 1997; Cameo Award, 1998; Golden Quill Award, 1998; Texas Gold Award, 1998-2002; Affaire de Coeur Top-Ten-Favorite Author Award, 1999; All about Romance Reader Award for favorite western historical, 1999; Rising Star Award, Historical Category, 1999; All About Romance's Annual Reader award for favorite historical romance, 2000, 2002.

WRITINGS:

historical romance novels

Sweet Lullaby, Diamond Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Parting Gifts, Diamond Books (New York, NY), 1994.

The Ladies' Man, Jove (New York, NY), 1995.

Always to Remember, Jove (New York, NY), 1996.

A Rogue in Texas, Avon (New York, NY), 1999.

Texas Destiny, Topaz (New York, NY), 2000.

Texas Glory, Topaz (New York, NY), 2000.

Texas Splendor, Topaz (New York, NY), 2000.

Never Marry a Cowboy, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

Never Love a Cowboy, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

The Outlaw and the Lady, Avon (New York, NY), 2001.

To Marry an Heiress, Avon (New York, NY), 2002.

Samantha and the Cowboy, Avon (New York, NY), 2002.

Amelia and the Outlaw, Avon (New York, NY), 2002.

Love with a Scandalous Lord, Avon (New York, NY), 2003.

Hard Lovin' Man, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2003.

An Invitation to Seduction, Avon (New York, NY), 2004.

Smooth Talkin' Stranger, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2004

Contributor to anthology To Tame a Texan, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1999. Contributor to books, including North American Romance Writers, edited by Kay Mussel and Johanna Tunon, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 1999; and How to Write a Romance for The New Markets, Volume 1, Kathryn Falk, Genesis Press (Columbus, MS), 1999. Columnist, Novelists Inc., 1999-2003.

SIDELIGHTS: According to her Web site, Lorraine Heath is the daughter of a British mother (a beauty-contest winner) and an American father, a Texan stationed in Bovington, England, following World War II. The family moved back to Texas after Lorraine was born, but her "dual" nationality led the young girl to love all things British and Texan. Her interests are reflected in Heath's novels, some of which concern the romantic encounters of British aristocrats facing life in the Wild West or, conversely, of Americans abroad during Queen Victoria's time. Reviewing Heath's 2003 novel Love with a Scandalous Lord, Booklist contributor Shelley Mosley dubbed the work "exceptionally written," reflecting the critical praise that is consistently awarded Heath.

Among Heath's titles are the "Texas" trilogy, which begins with the novel Texas Destiny. In this romance, a U.S. Civil War outcast named Houston Leigh withdraws into a world of loneliness after suffering disfiguring battle injuries. "Into this world walks Amelia Carlson, herself an emotional victim of the war, who arrives in Fort Worth as the mail-order bride of Houston's brother Dallas," as Ann McGuire noted in Romance Reader. As Amelia's escort to his brother's remote ranch, Houston is at first tentative and unsure around the vivacious Amelia. But as Wild West adventure follows them—in the form of snake bites, raging rivers, and wild horses—the two grow closer and closer. McGuire praised the author for her handling of the love scenes: "it's not wild and crazy," she remarked. "It's the touch of a hand, the brush of lips across a cheek. There is a tenderness to Lorraine Heath's writing that is almost heartbreaking." Library Journal contributor Kristin Ramsdell likewise praised the novel for its "superb levels of characterization and poignantly satisfying plot."

As the "Texas" trilogy continues, the marriage of Amelia to Houston has interrupted Dallas's plans for a son and heir to run his empire. In Texas Glory a range war with Angus McQueen over water rights may be settled when Dallas Leigh discovers McQueen's daughter, Cordelia. The young woman is a virtual prisoner in her home as she attends to her invalid mother. Pressured by her father to marry Dallas, the timid Cordelia accepts her fate, "even though all she has heard about his violence and hardness terrifies her," as Romance Reader Katy Cooper commented. In Cooper's opinion, the relationship between Dallas and Cordelia—and her eventual blossoming into confident womanhood—is the highlight of the novel. "I got everything I wanted and more" in this book, the reviewer concluded.

In Texas Destiny the youngest Leigh brother, Austin, was introduced as a rambunctious teen. He grows up in the final entry in the trilogy, Texas Splendor. When one of Cordelia's no-account brothers turns up dead, Austin is fingered for the crime. Rather than compromise the reputation of the woman who provided his alibi, Austin stands trial and is sentenced to five years in prison. He emerges from incarceration "a changed man," as McGuire wrote in a Romance Reader review. He is obsessed with clearing his name, and with finding the true killer of Cordelia's brother. His investigation leads Austin to Loree Grant, who "has ghosts of her own," according to McGuire. The critic found that Texas Splendor, while packing "somewhat less of an emotional wallop than Destiny and less complex than Glory," does "stand on its own as a tale of redemption." In McGuire's view, an "all too pat" conclusion is offset by Heath's talent for characterization—her "out-andout brilliance at bringing the simple and gentle moments of love to light."

Heath once told CA: "I have always been fascinated with history, in particular the small events that involved ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. I am very much interested in the common people, the people who did not make their way into the history books, and yet without them and their stories, we would have no history.

"Very often, the stories I discover while reading journals and personal accounts do not have happy endings. As a writer, I have the luxury of changing fact into fiction, and I often weave my stories around incidents or people whom I have met through my research. The prologue to Always to Remember was based on a personal account of a man who was tortured during the Civil War because he refused to carry a rifle. He was to be executed and, as he stood before the firing squad, he said a prayer similar to the one that my character Clay said in Always to Remember. The soldiers lowered their rifles and refused to carry out their orders. The man was returned to his cell. Unfortunately, he had been tortured so severely beforehand that he died of his wounds. The man's story fascinated me and, although I knew nothing else about him, I saw him as a man of courage, a man of conviction—a man I wanted to portray in a story that would have a happier ending.

"Writing happy endings is one of the joys of being a romance writer. No matter what rough roads I force my characters to travel, I always know that the journey will lead them toward happiness and, of course, love: the strongest of human emotions and the most rewarding."

At the invitation of Laura Bush when she was first lady of Texas, Heath served on a panel at the Texas Book Festival in 1998.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, September 15, 1998, Donna Seaman, review of Texas Glory, p. 211; September 15, 2001, review of Rogue in Texas, p. 212; June 1, 2003, Shelley Mosley, review of Love with a Scandalous Lord, p. 1752.

Kliatt, September, 2002, Sherri Forgash Ginsberg, re-view of Samantha and the Cowboy, Avon (New York, NY), 2002.

Library Journal, May 15, 1997, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Texas Destiny, p. 66.

Publishers Weekly, March 20, 2000, review of Never Love a Cowboy, p. 76; August 12, 2002, review of To Marry an Heiress, p. 283.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 1999, review of Texas Glory, p. 417.

online

Lorraine Heath Web site,http://www.lorraineheath.com/ (September 5, 2003).

Romance Reader,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (November 20, 2002), reviews of The Outlaw and the Lady, Texas Destiny, Texas Glory, Texas Splendor, A Rogue in Texas, Never Marry a Cowboy, and Never Love a Cowboy.