Carrie Lofty (edit name/settings)

From the author's website

I was born in California’s agricultural Central Valley, and my brother arrived two years later. I turned seven the summer our parents moved us from the outskirts of Los Angeles to a tiny community in northern Indiana, where my best friends morphed from Latinas to Amish girls.

My first research obsession? The Lincoln assassination. At age ten I raided my dad's Civil War books for more information. Aliens quickly followed--I still base my ideal of feminine strength on Ellen Ripley--but the most influential emerged with the debut of "The Young Riders," a '90s TV show about the Pony Express. I became the foremost authority on pony express history at my high school. Not much of a boast, but research, fan fiction, and historical romances kept me out of trouble.

I attended Bowling Green State University in Ohio, where I studied history and English. I spent my junior year in England, where I met my husband. I earned my MA from The Ohio State University with a thesis on Old West outlaws and the impact of legend on society.

After getting serious about becoming published in romantic fiction, I started my career with Zebra Debut in 2008. I was also one of the authors who helped launch Harlequin's Carina Press.

In 2010 I signed with Pocket to write the Christies family saga of Victorian romances. Flawless was followed in 2012 by a digital tie-in novella, "A Little More Scandal," and the series' second installment, Starlight. Set in Scotland, it was awarded 4½ Stars Top Pick from RT BookReviews.

Later in 2012, I look forward to sharing my WWII-era historical romance, His Very Own Girl.

I've since expanded my career to new genres! Co-writing under the name Ellen Connor, the "Dark Age Dawning" trilogy of hot-and-dirty apocalyptic romances from Berkley Sensation are available now. The first in the series, Nightfall, won the RT Reviewers' Choice award for best futuristic paranormal romance of 2011, and it's been nominated for a RITA in the Best Paranormal Romance category.

I also co-write contemporary romantic erotica for Samhain under the name Katie Porter. The "Vegas Top Guns" series begins in July 2012. Double Down, its debut, was also awarded a 4½ Stars Top Pick from RT BookReviews.