BROWN, Sandra

Born 12 March 1948, Waco, Texas

Also writes under: Laura Jordan, Rachel Ryan, Erin St. Claire

Daughter of Jimmie and Martha Cox; married Michael Brown,1948; children: Rachel, Ryan

Sandra Brown has been among the most prolific and commercially viable authors of romance and mainstream fiction throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Her current books contain many of the elements associated with the romance genre where she became established first, but also feature traits common to crime and political thrillers and mysteries. She is a rare example of a romance writer who has been able to make a successful transition into mainstream novels.

A native Texan, Brown was the oldest of five daughters of a father who wrote editorials for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a mother who counseled emotionally disturbed children. Brown attended Texas Christian University, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Texas at Arlington, although she never graduated. She met her husband, a video producer, while employed as a dancer at the Six Flags over America amusement park in Arlington. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, she was employed as a model, weather reporter, and entertainment reporter.

Brown began writing in 1981 at age thirty-three and sold her first book, Love's Encore, within the year under the pseudonym Rachel Ryan. This was followed the same year by Love Beyond Reason. In 1982, five of her titles were released and she was soon writing for all the major romance publishers, including Harlequin/Silhouette, Dell, Bantam, Berkley/Jove and Richard Gallen/Pocket, under her own name and three pseudonyms.

Romance readers loved the fact that her books were set in the American South rather than among European royalty, as was the norm. Some of her early genre novels included Eloquent Silence (1982) and A Treasure Worth Seeking (1982) under the pseudonym Rachel Ryan; Not Even for Love (1982), Hidden Fires (1982) and The Silken Web (1982) under Laura Jordan; A Kiss Remembered (1983) and Seduction by Design (1983) under Erin St.Claire; and Breakfast in Bed (1983), Prime Time (1983), and Heaven's Price (1983) under her own name.

Brown began to feel locked in by the conventions demanded by publishers and readers of romances, including the prohibition of graphic sex scenes and bad language and required happy endings. In 1988 she wrote her first mainstream novel, published by Warner Books. Her loyal romance readers were furious by the change at first, but she managed to keep most of her audience as well as adding even more fans. She became a fixture on the New York Times Bestseller List, where she was just the second female writer, after Danielle Steele, to have three titles appear simultaneously. As of 1998, Brown had produced more than 60 novels, including 36 bestsellers, and boasted well over 50 million copies in print. Her works have been translated into 30 languages.

Brown's first mainstream novel was Slow Heat in Heaven (1988), followed by Best Kept Secrets (1989); Mirror Image (1990), which represented her first appearance on the New York Times list; Breath of Scandal and Another Dawn (both 1991); French Silk (1992), which was developed into a made-for-television movie; Where There's Smoke and Shadows of Yesterday (both 1993); Charade (1994); The Witness (1995); Exclusive (1996); Fat Tuesday (1997); Unspeakable (1998); and The Alibi (1999). She has also written three books known collectively as the Texas! trilogy, including Texas! Lucky (1990), Texas! Chase (1990), and Texas! Sage (1992).

As a rule, critics love Brown's plots but are less enamored of her writing style. Publishers Weekly noted of French Silk, "Despite occasionally stilted and didactic dialogue, the novel is adroitly plotted and sleekly paced, and has just the right mix of menace and sex to keep pages turning." Similarly, the publication called Fat Tuesday a "suspenseful, if rarely subtle, tale of revenge and corruption" and Unspeakable a "fast-paced and romantically charged, if stiffly written, thriller…. Brown's deftly plotted narrative twists and turns without losing hold of its suspense."

Brown's work typically features a large number of fleshed-out characters, including a career-oriented female protagonist looking for love; lots of what one reviewer terms "raunchy sex scenes"; complicated plots, often involving family issues, in which unanticipated secrets are revealed and the heroine is placed in dangerous situations; and settings in the American South, from Texas to New Orleans to Washington, D.C. Readers and critics alike laud her ability to create fresh plots with every new book and to keep readers guessing right up to the last page.

Other Works:

Relentless Desire (1983). Tempest in Eden (1983). Tomorrow's Promise (1983). In a Class by Itself (1984). Send No Flowers (1984). Sunset Embrace (1984). Bittersweet Rain (1984). Words of Silk (1984). Thursday's Child (1985). A Sweet Anger (1985). Led Astray (1985). Another Dawn (1985). Riley in the Morning (1985). Tiger Prince (1985). Above and Beyond (1986). The Rana Look (1986). Honor Bound (1986). 22 Indigo Place (1986). The Devil's Own (1987). Sunny Chandler's Return (1987). Demon Rumm (1987). Two Alone (1987). Fanta C (1987). Tidingsof Great Joy (1988). Adam's Fall (1988). Hawk O'Toole's Hostage (1988). Long Time Coming (1989). Temperatures Rising (1989). Thrill of Victory (1989). A Whole New Light (1989). A Secret Splendor (1992).

Bibliography:

Reference Works:

CANR (1998).

Other reference:

Forbes (2 June 1997). NYTBR (31 May 1992). People (4 July 1994, 21 Sept. 1998). PW (30 Aug. 1985, 15 Apr. 1988, 21 Dec. 1990, 7 June 1991, 16 Mar. 1992, 15 May 1995, 10 July 1995, 6 May 1996, 9 Sept. 1996, 31 May 1997, 25 May 1998, 8 June 1998). Texas Monthly (Oct. 1991). Writer's Digest (Sept. 1984).

—KAREN RAUGUST