Cathie Linz was born on November 29. Her interest in writingbegan at an early age, when her older brother got a Tom Thumb typewriter.Only three at the time, she loved pounding on those keys! When she reachedthe third grade, Cathie received Second Prize award for her Class KnowledgeFair project. It was a "book" - three pages long, typed, single-space, abouther summer spent with her grandfather who'd retired to Ajijic, on the shoresof Lake Chapala, in Mexico.

Knowing that writing was not a financially secure career choice, Cathie wentto college and got a job as Head of Acquisitions at a university law libraryin the Chicago area. She married with Mr. Baumgardner. When she had to haveemergency surgery, she realized that life isn't open-ended and if she wantedto write, she needed to start now. While still living at home, she gaveherself a year to be published.

Her first publisher, Dell, called within two weeks of the approachingdeadline to buy her first book. After writing 12 books for Dell's successfulCandlelight Ecstasy line, Cathie began writing for Silhouette Desire. Sincethen, she's also written for Silhouette Romance and Harlequin Duets.Romantic Times has given Cathie its prestigious Storyteller of the YearAward as well as a Reviewers Choice Award. She's also been nominated formultiple Love and Laughter Awards and Best Series Author.In addition,Romance Writers of America recently made Cathie a lifetime honorary member.

Cathie is also a contributor to DANGEROUS MEN AND ADVENTUROUS WOMEN: RomanceWriters on the Appeal of the Romance, a hardcover lead title from theUniversity of Pennsylvania Press which won the distinguished Susan KopplemanAward. The mass market paperback edition was released by Harper Publishingin June of 1996.

Cathie lives in the Chicago area with her family and two cats. She livesnear fellow Silhouette authors Lindsay Longford and Suzette Vann, as well asNew York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips. This rowdyfoursome often hangs out at "Chile's" plotting their next masterpiece.Cathie is the one eating the steak fajitas. She has an office in her home,several walls of which feature her large collection of "keeper" romances.She's been known to wear t-shirts that say "So Many Books, So Little Time"and "Give me the Chocolate and No One Gets Hurt!" She writes her books inher home office suite, looking out on a small creek and woods. In thewinter, sometimes a deer or two will walk by. She loves the Alps, as you cantell from the photo on this webpage. Her hobbies include reading (she hasover 4,000 romances in her keeper library), travelling (she sets books inplaces she's visited -- from the Alps to Bermuda, and Oregon to NewHampshire), and collecting artist teddy bears (she got hooked on thisunusual hobby after researching for a book where the heroine designed teddybears. Cathie now has over 50 one-of a kind bears in her collection). She isalso an accomplished photographer.