内容简介
Apassionatetaleofdanger,adventure,andromancethatsweepsfromaSaxonstrongholdtoalovers'bowerinthecool,jadegreenforestsofWales.
作者简介
IrisJohansenWhileIrisJohansen'sstylehasevolvedovertheyears,thesameskillthatmadeher"oneoftheleadingauthorsofromancefiction"(BarbaraKemp)hashelpedestablishherreputationinabroaderfield.AsCatherineCoulternoted,"IrisJohansenisabestsellingauthorforthebestreason--she'sawonderfulstoryteller."BiographyAfterhertwochildrenlefthomeforcollege,IrisJohansendecidedtodevotehernewfoundfreetimetowriting.Sinceshelovedreadingromancenovels,shepennedalovestory,andfoundtohersurprisethat"IwasjustasvoraciousawriterasIwasareader."Duringthe1980s,hernamewasemblazonedondozensofslendervolumesfeaturingspiritedadventuresses,passionatemysterymen,andsmolderinglovescenes.Thesedays,JohansenisoneofaposseofformerromancewritersdominatingtheNewYorkTimesbestsellerlists.Earlyoninhercareer,Johansendevelopedthehabitoffollowingcharactersfrombooktobook,sometimesintroducingminorcharactersinonenovelwhothenbecomemajorfiguresinanother.Shedevelopedfamilies,relationships,andevenfictionalcountriesinherromancenovels,which"stretchedtheboundariesofthestandardformulas,"accordingtoBarbaraE.KempinTwentieth-CenturyRomanceandHistoricalWriters.In1991,Johansenbrokeoutofcategoryromance(atermforshortbookswrittentoconformtothelength,styleandsubjectmatterguidelinesforapublisher'sseries)withTheWindDancer,aromantic-suspensenovelsetin16th-centuryItaly.Shefolloweditwithtwosequels,StormWindsandReaptheWind,toformatrilogy,thenwroteseveralmorestand-aloneromancenovelsbeforeTheUglyDucklingwaspublishedin1996.TheUglyDucklingwasherfirstbooktobereleasedinhardcover--andthefirsttosignificantlybroadenherreadershipbeyondherromancefanbase.Sincethen,Johansen'splotshavegottentighterandmoresuspense-driven;criticshavepraisedher"flesh-and-bloodcharacters,cracklingdialogueandlean,suspensefulplotting"(PublishersWeekly).SomeofhermostpopularbooksfeatureforensicsculptorEveDuncan,whofirstappearedinTheFaceofDeceptionin1998.ButJohansenseemsequallycomfortablewithmaleprotagonists,andherbookshavecrossedthegenderdivisionthatoftencharacterizespopularfiction.Indeed,PublishersWeeklycalledTheSearch"thatrarity:awoman'snovelformen."GoodToKnowJohansenrewrotetheendingofReaptheWindforitsreissuein2002."Icouldn'tresisttighteningandchangingtheclimaxtocorrespondwithmychangedideasonplotstructurebutthestoryisbasicallythesame,"sheexplainedinaQ&Aonherpublisher'swebsite.ManyofherearlynovelswerewrittenfortheLovesweptseriesfromBantamBooks;bestsellingauthorsSandraBrownandKayHooperalsowrotefortheseries.Hometown:NearAtlanta,GeorgiaWebsite:http://www.irisjohansen.com
