St. John, Kelley

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St. John, Kelley

PERSONAL:

Married; children.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—kelley@kelleysbooks.com.

CAREER:

Author. Formerly a senior writer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America (member of board of directors).

AWARDS, HONORS:

National Readers' Choice first-place award for best first book, 2006, for Good Girls Don't; Beacon Contest first-place award, 2006, for Good Girls Don't; National Readers' Choice Award finalist for best single title, 2007, for Real Women Don't Wear Size 2; numerous other fiction writing awards.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE FICTION

Good Girls Don't, Warner Forever (New York, NY), 2005.

Real Women Don't Wear Size 2, Warner Forever (New York, NY), 2006.

To Catch a Cheat, Warner Forever (New York, NY), 2007.

THE "SEXTH SENSE" TRILOGY; ROMANCE NOVELS

Ghosts and Roses, Harlequin Blaze (New York, NY), 2007.

Kiss and Dwell, Harlequin Blaze (New York, NY), 2007.

Shiver and Spice, Harlequin Blaze (New York, NY), 2007.

Contributor to Romance Writer's Report.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kelley St. John began her writing career as a technical writer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where she composed technical manuals used by engineers and computer programmers. She began penning romance stories in her free time, and entered the contest circuit for romance writers in order to gain feedback from adjudicators and fellow writers. The story for her first published novel, Good Girls Don't, was inspired by news coverage of a unique business designed to create alibis for cheating spouses. In her fictional account, St. John introduces the character of Colette, who runs an alibi agency as a means of saving money to start up her dream business, but has to hide her profession from a new boyfriend who is an unwitting client. A MyShelf.com reviewer described the novel as "very entertaining" and a "sexy and fun read." Shelley Mosley wrote in a Booklist review that fans will appreciate St. John's "fast-paced, sexy, and witty conversations."

St. John continued in the tradition of Good Girls Don't with her second novel, Real Women Don't Wear Size 2. The protagonist in this case is a curvy goody-two-shoes who is facing her thirtieth birthday and decides to let loose her wild side with a no-holds-barred trip to Tampa, where she falls in love with a coworker. Booklist reviewer Mosley remarked that St. John "continues to show her flair for comedic timing and dialogue." A contributor to Publishers Weekly considered the novel to be "steamy reading that should appeal to those in the Sex and the City crowd."

In 2007 St. John's "Sexth Sense" series was published by Harlequin Blaze, including the novels Ghosts and Roses, Kiss and Dwell, and Shiver and Spice. The trilogy earned St. John a nod as finalist of the 2007 Cameo Award for best romantic series. A fourth St. John title, To Catch a Cheat, was released later in the year and includes cameos by secondary characters in Good Girls Don't.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 2005, Shelley Mosley, review of Good Girls Don't, p. 32; September 1, 2006, Shelley Mosley, review of Real Women Don't Wear Size 2, p. 59.

Publishers Weekly, August 14, 2006, review of Real Women Don't Wear Size 2, p. 186.