A former jr high and high school English teacher, I earned my BA in American Studies from UCLA and my MA in Writing from University of San Francisco but now write full time for two publishers, Grand Central Publishing (formely Warner Books) and Harlequin in London.

My favorite writers are turn of the century writers (Edith Wharton,...more »

A former jr high and high school English teacher, I earned my BA in American Studies from UCLA and my MA in Writing from University of San Francisco but now write full time for two publishers, Grand Central Publishing (formely Warner Books) and Harlequin in London.

My favorite writers are turn of the century writers (Edith Wharton, Henry James, Mark Twain, DH Lawerence) but I'm also a Bronte, Dickens, Austen, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Forster, and Woolf fan. In short, I love books and I do read everything...fiction, non-fiction, poetry, short story, even the back of the cereal box every morning.

Having taught the classics I appreciate them, however I also love popular fiction and commercial fiction. I love writers that hold my attention and can entertain me while I'm trapped on a plane or tarmac for hours.

As my students used to say, "Books are Ms Porter's friends." Indeed they are. Now that I'm a mom of two boys (8 and 12) I'm trying to pass on my love of reading. Not as easy as I'd expected but I'm not giving up! « less