Irene Hannon is an award-winning author who launched her career at the age of 10, when she was one of the winners in a complete-the-story contest conducted by a national children's magazine.

Since then, she has written more than 25 novels in the genre of romantic fiction. Her books have been honored with a number of awards, including the coveted RITA from Romance Writers of America (the "Oscar" of romantic fiction), the Holt Medallion and a Reviewer's Choice award from Romantic Times BOOKreviews magazine. More than 1 million copies of her books have been sold.

Irene, who holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.A. in journalism, juggled two careers for many years until she gave up her executive corporate communications position with a Fortune 500 company to devote full time to writing. She is happy to say she has no regrets!

In her spare time, Irene often appears in community musical theater productions. A trained vocalist, she has sung such classic romantic roles as Nellie in "South Pacific", Fiona in "Brigadoon", Laurey in "Oklahom" and Anna in "The King and I." She also sings at church.

When not otherwise occupied, she and her husband enjoy traveling, Saturday mornings at their favorite coffee shop and spending time with family. They make their home in Missouri.