Hi…I write historical romance novels for Leisure books under the name Madeline Baker, and paranormal romances for Leisure LoveSpell under the name Amanda Ashley.

Someone told me that my readers might like to know a little about me….

I was born in California and I’ve lived here all my life. I started writing simply for the fun of it. I never had any intention of selling anything and, in fact, never told anyone I was writing until a friend of mine mentioned she was writing a book, and I found myself blurting out that I had written one, too. She asked to read it. I said, Oh, no. I couldn’t imagine letting anyone read what I’d written. However, eventually, I gave in and let her read my book. It was COMANCHE FLAME. She said it was very good, and that I should try to get it published. Encouraged by her praise, I let my best friend read it. She loved it and said it was just as good, if not better, than a lot of books she read. After considering their words, I decided to try and find a publisher.

Well, that was no easy task. I had no knowledge of the book business. My friend suggested I get a copy of Writer’s Market and look for book publishers, which I did. There began six years of sending out query letters, being asked for the manuscript, being rejected. Eventually, after 31 rejections, I sold a book. My first sale was the third book I had written and was called RECKLESS HEART. I’ve been writing ever since.

After 14 historicals, I wrote a short story called MASQUERADE, which was published by Topaz in a anthology called THE TOPAZ MAN PRESENTS SECRETS OF THE HEART. I loved that story. Loved writing about vampires. I was hooked…or bitten….and thus Amanda Ashley was born.

If you’d like a bookmark for my most recent vampire book, please send a legal size SASE to my post office box… P.O. Box 1703, Whittier, CA 90609-1703.

If you can’t find them in your bookstore, you can order them directly from Leisure Books by calling 1-800-481-9191.

1988 RECKLESS HEART, RECKLESS LOVE, RECKLESS DESIRE won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Indian Series

1991 WHISPER IN THE WIND won Affaire de Coeur’s Golden Unicorn Award for Best Time Travel

1992 MIDNIGHT FIRE won the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence

1993 THE SPIRIT PATH won the Paperback Trader’s Romance Readers Award for Best Indian historical

1994 LOVING DEVLIN word the Best Indian Historical award from the Puget Sound Romance Readers

1995 THE SPIRIT PATH won the Paperback Trader’s Romance Readers Award for Best Indian historical for the second time

1995 I was voted one of Affaire de Coeur’s Top Ten Authors

2000 Voted Historical Storyteller of the Year by Romantic Times Magazine