Ireland, Liz

PERSONAL:

Married; husband's name Joe (a computer software engineer). Education: Southern Methodist University, B.F.A., 1987. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, old movies, dogs and cats, antiquing, collecting old jazz music albums.

ADDRESSES:

Home—OR.

CAREER:

Freelance writer. Also worked a variety of jobs in New York, NY, including in book stores, in publishing, and as a substitute teacher.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Choice Award for Best Silhouette Romance, Romantic Times Online, c. 1993, for Man Trap.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Man Trap, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

The Birds and the Bees, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

Mom for a Week, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

Cecilia and the Stranger, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Getting away with It: Jojo, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Heaven-sent Husband, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1996.

Millie and the Fugitive, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1996.

The Groom Forgets, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

Prim and Improper, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

The Hijacked Bride, Harlequin (New York, NY), Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

Baby for Hire, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

A Cowboy's Heart, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

The Outlaw's Bride, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

Trouble in Paradise, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

Husband Material, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

Her Protector ("Trueblood, Texas" series), Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001.

When I Think of You, Zebra Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Charmed, I'm Sure, Kensington (New York, NY), 2003.

Blissful, Texas, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2003.

Three Bedrooms in Chelsea, Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Jane Green and Jennifer Coburn) This Christmas, Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

How I Stole Her Husband, Strapless/Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

The Pink Ghetto, Kensington (New York, NY), 2006.

OMNIBUS VOLUMES

(With Victoria Pade) Downhome Darlin'/The Best Man Switch, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Susan MacLand) Sex and the Single Cowpoke/Lovestruck, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

(With Carrie Alexander) The Cash-Strapped Cutie/Keepsake Cowboy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Cheryl Anne Porter) The Deputy's Bride/Sitting Pretty, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Colleen Collins) The Love Police/Rough and Rugged, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Jane Sullivan) The Sheriff and the E-mail Bride/Stray Hearts, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

(With Millie Criswell and Mary McBride) A Western Family Christmas, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Jill Shalvis) Her Protector/Hero for Hire, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Jennifer Coburn and Jane Green) This Christmas, Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Romance writer Liz Ireland spent her early childhood in Martins Mill in eastern Texas and her high school years in San Antonio. For college, she studied theater at Southern Methodist University, where she completed a B.F.A. in 1987. Curious about life in a big city, she moved to New York City, where she spent time working in book stores, for a publishing house, and as a substitute teacher. In her spare time, Ireland practiced writing. She had caught the writing bug while in college, where she tried her hand at composing plays. As she recalled for a Chick Lit Books interviewer: "I started writing in college, when I was involved in theater. I took a playwriting course and was hooked on writing at once. After college, when I realized getting a play produced was about as easy as winning the lottery, I started writing prose and found it suited me better. I like being the sole creator—playwright, director, and actors all rolled into one. It was another five years before I got anything published, though." After some effort, she published her first book, Man Trap, in 1993. The romance novel won the Romance Times's Choice Award for Best Silhouette Romance, and Ireland was on her way.

Deciding New York was really not the place for her, Ireland moved back to Texas, got married, and eventually settled in Oregon. Like many authors new to romance writing who are contracted by the publisher Harlequin, Ireland began by writing the short romance series novels popular with many fans of the genre. Then, beginning with Cecilia and the Stranger in 1995, she moved on to western romances. She would later add contemporary and even paranormal romances to her oeuvre. Reporting that this book about a romance between an unscrupulous sheriff and a school teacher marks a "smooth transition" for the author into westerns, Romantic Times Online critic Frances L. Trainor wrote that "its small town hominess and subtle humor … [make it] a heart warming, thoroughly enjoyable read."

Ireland followed Cecilia and the Stranger with many other western romances, including Millie and the Fugitive, Prim and Improper, The Hijacked Bride, A Cowboy's Heart, The Outlaw's Bride, Trouble in Paradise, and Blissful, Texas.

Millie and the Fugitive is about Sam, an escaped convict trying to keep his brother from being hanged by clearing his name, and Millie, a spoiled, rich young woman who witnesses Sam's escape and is therefore taken hostage. "Ireland's frivolous, feisty Millie, with her string of eleven discarded fiances, keeps the reader smiling through this lively western romance," remarked Cindy Royce in the Romantic Times Online. Prim and Improper is a tale of mixed-up romance as one woman, deeming a rancher unfit for her sister, tries to thwart their romance and ends up falling in love instead. Although Romantic Times Online contributor Cyndie Dennis-Greer felt there was "not much action," she called it "a good story, filled with banter."

As she continued to publish, Ireland gained a reputation for writing light-hearted romances in whatever genre she chose. A Cowboy's Heart is one example. In this story, Sheriff Will Brockett comes home after a long trip where he provided testimony at a trial; once back home, he finds that the woman he loved, Mary Ann, is not only married but apparently has been kidnapped. He forms a rescue mission that includes Mary Ann's husband, a tomboy saloon owner named Paulie, and her employee, Trip. Paulie is secretly in love with Will, and she makes awkward attempts to become more feminine and attractive, often to the confusion of Will. "While far from earth shattering, I enjoyed reading A Cowboy's Heart for pure pleasure," wrote Romance Reader critic Ann McGuire. "Here's a romance that doesn't take itself too seriously, and treats its readers to a nice, disarming blend of true romance and lighthearted Western silliness."

The Outlaw's Bride is another tale about unexpected love between a sheriff and a spinster woman, while Trouble in Paradise is about a shamed woman who poses as a wealthy New York lady, attracting the attention of three men in the same family. "In spite of some bumpy prose and misunderstandings that last just a bit too long, Liz Ireland writes an appealing love story," commented Gerry Benninger in his Romantic Times Online assessment. Blissful, Texas is a tale about the ups and downs of a brothel posing as a boarding house that Benninger, writing again in Romantic Times Online, called "frothy" and "fun," although he observed that Ireland makes the issue of prostitution "a lot lighter and more romantic than it probably was."

Ireland is also the author of a number of contemporary romances. When I Think of You, for example, is about a Portland, Oregon, journalist named Celia who is invited to her friend's wedding and asked to help with the preparations. Celia is surprised by this development, because her friend met her fiancé over the Internet and has never seen him in person. Celia's coworker Davis goes along, and as Celia puzzles over the strange wedding and thinks more about relationships, she begins to see that there may be someone for her, too, whom she had taken for granted. "Ireland delivers slightly offbeat humor and wisdom in this fun read," reported Jill Smith in the Romantic Times Online.

Three Bedrooms in Chelsea was inspired by an old movie, according to the author. Ireland told the Chick Lit Books interviewer: "The idea for that book came to me when I was sitting in front of a cheesy but incredibly watchable sixties movie called ‘The Pleasure Seekers,’ which is a remake of ‘Three Coins in a Fountain,’ the classic three-girls-in-an-apartment movie of all time. And I realized that I simply had to write a three girls in an apartment book." Setting her tale in New York City, Ireland follows the career and love adventures of three very different women sharing living quarters. "The three characters are intelligent, intriguing individuals whose contrasts make for a fine character study," reported Harriet Klausner in AllReaders.com. "Often amusing and filled with angst," Klausner added, "readers will appreciate Jill Ireland's homage to Manhattan, rent and all."

How I Stole Her Husband is a humorous tale about a young woman named Alison who desires a job in New York City. At her interview, however, she finds the woman on the other side of the desk is an old rival from high school; furthermore, this potential new boss married the man Alison once loved. The book is "an entertaining read, especially for twenty- and thirty-somethings," observed Kristine Huntley in a Booklist review. The Pink Ghetto, published in 2006, is about the career and romance misadventures of a woman working at a romance publishing house. Booklist critic Diane Tixier Herald declared that this "laugh-out-loud-funny novel gives readers an insider's view of romance publishing."

Admitting in her Chick Lit Books interview that her chosen genre of books gets little respect, Ireland commented: "As for people who put down chick lit, I've spent ten years writing romances, the Rodney Dangerfield of book genres, so I'm used to getting no respect. I can still climb up on my soap box when it comes to the issue, though, which I think boils down to snobbery, or sexism. Entertainment marketed to women usually gets second-class treatment. It happens with movies, too. I don't know a remedy, except to vote my taste with my wallet and not care what other people think."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, July 1, 2002, Alexandra Shrake, review of When I Think of You, p. 1830; March 15, 2005, Kristine Huntley, review of How I Stole Her Husband, p. 1274; April 15, 2006, Diana Tixier Herald, review of The Pink Ghetto, p. 32.

Voice of Youth Advocates, June 1, 2002, review of The Sheriff and the E-mail Bride/Stray Hearts, p. 91.

ONLINE

AllReaders.com,http://www.allreaders.com/ (June 18, 2008), Harriet Klausner, reviews of Three Bedrooms in Chelsea and Husband Material.

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (November 10, 2001), Linda Hurst, "Country Christmas Joy," review of A Western Family Christmas.

Chick Lit Books,http://chicklitbooks.com/ (June 18, 2008), interview with Liz Ireland.

eHarlequin Web site,http://www.eharlequin.com/ (June 18, 2008), brief biography of Liz Ireland.

Fresh Fiction,http://freshfiction.com/ (June 18, 2008), Janmarie Anello, biography of Liz Ireland.

Mrs. Giggle's Reviews,http://www.mrsgiggles.com/ (June 18, 2008), review of How I Stole Her Husband.

Romance Reader,http://www.theromancereader.com/ (June 18, 2008), Ann McGuire, review of A Cowboy's Heart.

Romantic Times Online,http://romantictimes.com/ (June 18, 2008), Sheri Melnick, review of Charmed, I'm Sure, Jill M. Smith, reviews of When I Think of You and Husband Material, Gerry Benninger, reviews of Blissful, Texas and Trouble in Paradise, Maria C. Ferrer, review of The Outlaw's Bride, Cyndie Dennis-Greer, review of Prim and Improper, Frances L. Trainor, review of Cecilia and the Stranger, Debbie Richardson, reviews of The Hijacked Bride and The Groom Forgets, Cindy Royce, review of Millie and the Fugitive, Shannon Short, review of Downhome Darlin'/The Best Man Switch.