Marilyn J. Clay grew up drawing pictures, reading voraciously, and writing stories. After graduating from college with degrees in Art and English, she illustrated children's textbooks, owned a graphics design studio in Dallas, Texas; became a fashion illustrator, and a creative director for a fashion magazine, and served as University Editor for The University of Texas at Dallas. While a member of RWA, she designed Romance Writers of America's RITA award statuette. For sixteen years, Marilyn published The Regency Plume, an international newsletter focused on the English Regency period. Kensington Books published six of her Regency romance novels, three were translated to foreign languages and all six are now available online as e-books.