Lauren N. Sharman

Lauren Sharman, who was voted BEST ROMANCE AUTHOR in the 2006 Annual Preditors & Editors Reader's Poll, has been creating characters and writing short stories since she was a little girl. But it was her love of reading that finally inspired her to write novels. At home in Maryland, she and her husband live on three acres of land with their two amazing kids, and share a passion for classic cars, music, steamed crabs, and spending time with their friends. She is an active member of both the Maryland Romance Writers and Romance Writer's of America, and is an RWA PRO. visit author's site here

Author's Books

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Living in Maryland most of my life, I am very attached to the people, places and things that surround me. I love living on three acres of land in the country, where I spend close to two hours every week in the spring, summer, and fall sitting on my tractor cutting the grass. It's relaxing, stress free, and the perfect time to think about and plot whichever manuscript I happen to be working on. I also love spending time with my family and friends, throwing parties, NFL football (Hail to the Redskins!), live music, and cruising in the '69 SS Chevelle that my husband restored for me from the ground up!

I credit my mom for my love of reading. When I was in junior high, she would go to the public library and check out age appropriate chapter books for me. She chose great titles that I really enjoyed, and surprise, surprise, I was hooked! Years later, she confessed that she never read the blurbs on the back, but instead, chose books by the pictures on the front.
So see. . .sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover!

Okay, down to business.

I've been 'officially' writing since 2002. I say 'officially', because before that, I would just make up characters and write short stories for fun. I'd been doing that for as long as I can remember. . .even had to repeat tenth grade biology because I spent more time sitting in the back of the classroom writing stories than I did paying attention to what the teacher was saying. Guess I should've known then that I was destined to be a writer!

What I enjoy most about writing is the opportunity it gives me to not only create characters, but to become them as well. I have always believed that in order to write a good story, the author needs to write as if the hero and heroine's thoughts, feelings, and actions are their own.

Unique about my writing is that I try and create down to earth characters that the average reader can identify with. None of them are perfect, they all work for a living, and most have skeletons in their closets and pasts that are about to catch up with them. Romance Reviews Today reviewer Anne Aguirre summed it up perfectly when she said, “Ms. Sharman has almost reinvented the contemporary genre because she doesn’t write about the rich and the beautiful. These are down-home people, blue collar romances. The heroines fix their own cars and shoot guns like pros. Her heroes have been to prison a time or two and maybe ran with a biker gang back in the day.”

The idea for my first novel released by Whiskey Creek Press, a mainstream fiction with romantic elements called, Growing Up Little, came from five years of listening to my husband, Joey, telling me stories about the wild things he and his friends had done when they were teenagers. I thought that since he and I had some similar experiences growing up in the 80's, than others probably did, too, and that it would make a great book. I had so much to say that the entire novel was written in only 8 weeks!

The most fun I've ever had writing has been creating the McCassey family from Hagerstown, Maryland. The leading men in this romantic suspense trilogy are brothers Blackie, Judd, and Rebel; the strongest, most developed characters I've ever had the pleasure of creating.

I began with the youngest brother, Rebel. His book, No Worries (The McCassey Brother's Trilogy: Book 1) started out as a single title. I had no intention of turning it into a trilogy, but fell so in love with the characters—whose family I based on the closeness I share with my own cousins—that I had to continue the series.

Next came The Devil's Candy (The McCassey Brother's Trilogy: Book 2). This story is about the oldest brother, Blackie. I admit that Blackie, the biggest, strongest, wildest, and meanest of them all, is my favorite brother. . .most likely because I included a lot of my husband—who is my hero—in Blackie's personality and characteristics. People say that his heart is as cold and dark as his name, but the ones he's closest to know different. . .

Poor Judd. He almost didn't survive long enough to be in his own book! Out of all the boys, he was the one who gave me the most trouble. But the brother born in the middle. . .the one hovering in the shadow of two living legends, has quite a story to tell in Dusty Rose (The McCassey Brother's Trilogy: Book 3), which was just released this month.

So that's it.

The McCassey Brother's Trilogy is complete, right?

Wrong.

Let me tell you something; when the muse hits, it hits! I'm now writing a fourth—and final—McCassey book. . .officially making it a series instead of a trilogy!

If Walls Could Talk (WCP, September 2008), is the story of Blackie, Judd, and Rebel's newfound half-sister, Georgia.

Her book is a little different from the other three. In this story, the brother's patience is going to be tried until the very end. They want to help their sister and bring her into the family fold. However, she fights them; feeling as though she's not good enough to be part of the infamous McCassey clan.
This time, Blackie, Judd, and Rebel can't fix things by simply saying, 'No Worries'.
This time, their problems can't be solved with powerful right hooks and semi-automatic weapons.
What it's going to take to bring this family together is something more than any of the brothers knew they had in them. . .

I am extremely grateful to Whiskey Creek Press for giving me the opportunity to share my stories with readers. I've come a long way from being nervous about sharing my work with anyone, and sometimes feel like standing on the street corner waving papers in my hand yelling, "Hey, anyone want to read a manuscript?"

The highlights of my career so far—other than overcoming the apprehension of sharing my work—have been being voted BEST AUTHOR in the 2006 Annual Preditors & Editors Reader's Poll, as well as having No Worries win for BEST ROMANCE NOVEL, and Growing Up Little finish in the Top Ten in the mainstream category.

I am also proud to say that all of my books have made Whiskey Creek Press' BESTSELLER list. No Worries reached #1, The Devil's Candy was #2 for two months in a row, and Growing Up Little reached #3. In addition, No Worries also won the prestigious 2006 REVIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD from eCataromance.

Please check out my web site www.LaurenSharman.com for excerpts and reviews of all my books. I also have a very active message board, and a FREE newsletter you can sign up for that’s emailed out at the beginning of every month. It has information on what I'm up to, what's new with my books, book signings, contests, etc.

I love hearing from readers! You can send me a message at LaurenSharman@gmail.com

Happy New Year, and Happy Reading!