Jeffries, Sabrina (Deborah Martin, Deborah Nicholas)

PERSONAL:

Born in New Orleans, LA; daughter of missionaries; married a librarian, c. 1985; children: Nicholas. Education: Tulane University, Ph.D. Hobbies and other interests: Jigsaw puzzles, cooking, making jewelry, watching movies, music.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Cary, NC. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Author. Has worked as a technical writer, teacher, and director of a day care center. Former visiting professor, Tulane University.

WRITINGS:

"LORD" TRILOGY; ROMANCE NOVELS

The Pirate Lord, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Forbidden Lord, Avon Books (New York, NY), 1999.

The Dangerous Lord, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

"SWANLEA SPINSTERS" SERIES; ROMANCE NOVELS

A Dangerous Love, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

A Notorious Love, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2001.

After the Abduction, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Dance of Seduction, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Married to the Viscount, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2004.

"ROYAL BROTHERHOOD" SERIES; HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELS

In the Prince's Bed, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2004.

To Pleasure a Prince, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2005.

One Night with a Prince, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2005.

"SCHOOL FOR HEIRESSES" SERIES; HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELS

Never Seduce a Scoundrel, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Only a Duke Will Do, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Beware a Scot's Revenge, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Julia London, Liz Carlyle, and Renee Bernard) The School for Heiresses, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2007.

UNDER PSEUDONYM DEBORAH MARTIN; HISTORICAL ROMANCE NOVELS

Moonlight Enchantment, Leisure Books, 1992.

Creole Nights, Leisure Books, 1992.

By Love Unveiled Topaz, 1993.

Dangerous Angel Topaz, 1994.

Silver Deceptions, Topaz, 1994.

Stormswept, Topaz, 1995.

(With Kimberly Cates, Anne Stuart, and Christina Dodd) One Night with a Rogue, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Windswept, Topaz, 1996.

Creole Bride, Topaz, 1997.

(With Rexanne Becnel, Anne Logan, and Meagan McKinney) A Dance with the Devil, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

UNDER PSEUDONYM DEBORAH NICHOLAS; PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVELS

Night Vision, Dell, 1993.

Silent Sonata, Dell, 1994.

Shattered Reflections, Zebra, 1995.

OTHER ROMANCE FICTION

Too Wicked for Heaven: From the Young & the Restless (audio cassette recording), My Romance, 1997.

(With Christine Feehan, Emma Holly, and Elda Minger) Fantasy (includes The Widow's Auction by Jeffries), Jove Books (New York, NY), 2002.

A Day in Mossy Creek ("Mossy Creek Hometown" series), edited by Deborah Smith, BelleBooks, 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sabrina Jeffries has gained a large following for her historical romance novels, many of which are set in England's Regency Period. Her interest in writing stems from her childhood. After she was born in New Orleans, her parents decided to become missionaries, and so the whole family traveled to Thailand. Jeffries spent much of her childhood there, and although there were appealing aspects of growing up in an exotic location, the lack of other children like herself made her somewhat lonely. She turned to books to occupy her time. As she related on the Mystic Castle Web site: "Growing up in Thailand opened my mind a great deal to different cultures, which I think is always good for any writer. Also, because we were isolated in the country and I had no other American kids to play with (and my Thai friends spoke little English while I spoke little Thai), I spent a lot more time reading than I might have normally. I'd always been an avid reader, but out in the country, I spent hours and hours reading and making up stories. So I think being out there alone really helped spark my creative bent. I made up stories all the time. There was nothing else to do."

Returning to America to attend college, Jeffries earned her doctorate in English literature at Tulane University. She found work as a technical writer and also as a teacher, but eventually she was drawn to writing. Her first books were composed under the pen names Deborah Martin and Deborah Nicolas. "Early in my career I wrote darker historical romances under the pseudonym Deborah Martin, with less dialogue and more history and complicated plots," she related on the Risky Regencies Web site; as Nicolas she wrote paranormal suspense romances. "At some point I realized that I wasn't writing the books I enjoyed reading, but the books I felt, as a former academic, that I somehow ought to write. What I enjoyed reading was Regency historicals by authors like Johanna Lindsey, Amanda Quick, and Judith McNaught. I finally decided that it was time to start writing what I liked reading."

A typical Jeffries novel features strong heroines and heroes and their adventures in English high society. Such is the case with the author's "Swanlea Spinsters" series, which inspired Kelley Hartshorn to write in Best Reviews that Jeffries is an "amusing and interesting author, … [who] has become one of my favorites. Her characters are always well-developed and by the time you finish the book, you really feel like you know them."

Jeffries's "Royal Brotherhood" books feature three fictional, illegitimate sons of the Prince of Wales. Denied access to the royal family's wealth, the brothers agree to work together to ensure their success in business and love. The books received some of Jeffries's strongest reviews. For instance, in Best Reviews, Suan Wilson called To Pleasure a Prince "a delightful read. The strong characters, sensual and entertaining plot and witty dialogue blossom under Ms. Jeffries' skillful hand." Wilson also called To Pleasure a Prince "superb as Ms. Jeffries fills it with compelling characters who vibrate with sexual tension." In the Midwest Book Review, Harriet Klausner concluded that "Sabrina Jeffries' royal flush series contain three fabulous historical novels." The more recent "School for Heiresses" series features the spirited students, graduates, and teachers of Mrs. Harris's School for Young Ladies, where heiresses learn how to avoid fortune-hunters and rogues in their pursuit of a good marriage. Library Journal critic Kristin Ramsdell called the books "a stellar collection that readers will adore."

Although Jeffries has a busy writing schedule, there is another aspect of her life that involves much of her time. The mother of an autistic son named Nicholas, she tries to promote awareness and understanding of this disorder through her Web site and other means. "The one thing it has really done for me is to change my whole outlook on disability and eccentricity in general," she told an interviewer on the Radcliff Bookstore Web site. "I'm much more tolerant these days, and I truly don't understand why we can't just accept the great diversity of people out there and enjoy them for what they are. Nick is such an angel now and he takes joy from the smallest things (me singing ‘Puff, the Magic Dragon,’ for example). He can't talk and he has a million little obsessions and eccentricities, but when he's smiling, all of that goes away. It's humbling, and it reminds me daily to stop and smell the flowers."

Jeffries told CA: "I started writing poetry and short stories in high school, but it was only after I became a visiting assistant professor of English at Tulane University that I sat down to develop a publishable academic work based on my dissertation and found it so boring that I started writing a novel instead. I've been writing novels ever since.

"Writers who most influenced me include Judith McNaught, Johanna Lindsey, Amanda Quick, Rexanne Becnel, and Meagan McKinney. Judith McNaught writes the alpha heroes I love, and her emotional depth leaves you gasping. Johanna Lindsey's light-hearted tone is exactly the tone I like, although sometimes her plots bother me. Amanda Quick's feisty heroines showed me that I really could get away with a heroine who said exactly what she thought. And then Meagan and Rexanne were the first people to show me how important it was to have sympathetic characters, ones you could love with all their flaws. Both of them do sexual tension well. I was very fortunate that they were in my Romance Writers of America chapter and were willing to critique me. They're my friends, but they also made me a better writer, especially Rexanne, who is my critique partner to this day.

"My life and personality don't lend themselves to a normal schedule. For the most part, I write all the time, with large interruptions for housework, leisure, sleep, meals, and family interaction. I set myself a page limit for the day, but that's it. I might write five pages in the afternoon or three pages in the morning and three at midnight or ten pages after six p.m. That's my typical day. My ideal day is to get up, walk on the treadmill while checking my e-mail and doing research, bathe, write some, have lunch, write some, take a nap (I take a ten to fifteen minute catnap every afternoon), write some, cook supper, eat with my husband, maybe watch some TV, spend time with my son once he's home, write some, go to bed. It rarely follows that schedule, however. For one thing, my husband's work hours and my son's schedule can fluctuate a great deal. So I fit everything in around them as best I can.

"Even after having written all these novels, I'm still learning about writing!"

When asked which of her books is her favorite, she said, "This changes with my mood, to be honest. But my latest tends to be my favorite—I'm not sure why. I always think that the one I just finished is the best one … until the next comes along.

"I hope my readers get joy and pleasure from my books, and find in my work a release from their everyday troubles. I write to entertain, and if I succeed at that, then I am satisfied."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 2006, Patty Englemann, review of Never Seduce a Scoundrel, p. 75; September 15, 2006, John Charles, review of Only a Duke Will Do, p. 41; January 1, 2007, John Charles, review of The School for Heiresses, p. 67.

Library Journal, November 15, 2000, Kristin Ramsdell, review of A Dangerous Love, p. 57; April 15, 2006, Kristin Ramsdell, review of A Dangerous Love, p. 63; December 1, 2006, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The School for Heiresses, p. 102.

Publishers Weekly, June 14, 2004, review of In the Prince's Bed, p. 50; January 31, 2005, review of To Pleasure a Prince, p. 54; April 18, 2005, review of One Night with a Prince, p. 49; July 24, 2006, review of Only a Duke Will Do, p. 42; November 6, 2006, review of The School for Heiresses, p. 41.

ONLINE

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (February 28, 2002), Kathy Boswell, review of Fantasy; (March 1, 2002), Janice Bennett, review of Fantasy; (March 25, 2002), Raelene Gorlinsky, review of Fantasy; (March 27, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of Fantasy; (May 21, 2002), Harriet Klausner, review of After the Abduction; (May 22, 2002), Leena Hyat, review of A Dangerous Love; (November 22, 2002), Kelley Hartshorn, review of After the Abduction; (March 15, 2003), Suan Wilson, review of Dance of Seduction; (March 25, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Dance of Seduction; (December 6, 2003), Harriet Klausner, review of Married to the Viscount; (December 26, 2003), Suan Wilson, review of Married to the Viscount; (July 10, 2004), Suan Wilson, review of In the Prince's Bed; (August 10, 2004), Harriet Klausner, review of In the Prince's Bed; (August 20, 2004), DeborahAnne MacGillivray, review of In the Prince's Bed; (February 23, 2005), Suan Wilson, reviews of To Pleasure a Prince and The School for Heiresses.

Fallen Angel Reviews,http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/ (June 1, 2006), review of Never Seduce a Scoundrel.

Fog City Divas,http://fogcitydivas.typepad.com/ (August 15, 2006), "The Divas Welcome Special Guest Sabrina Jeffries!," interview with the author.

Fresh Fiction,http://freshfiction.com/ (January 7, 2007), Billie Jo Case, review of The School for Heiresses.

Midwest Book Review,http://www.midwestbookreview.com/ (November 1, 2001), Harriet Klausner, review of A Notorious Love; (July 1, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of One Night with a Prince; (March 1, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Never Seduce a Scoundrel; (September 1, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of Only a Duke Will Do; (January 1, 2007), Harriet Klausner, review of The School for Heiresses.

Mystic Castle,http://www.themysticcastle.com/ (July 9, 2007), "Interview with Sabrina Jeffries."

Radcliff Bookstore Web site,http://www.thebookstore-radcliff.com/ (March 1, 2005), interview with Sabrina Jeffries.

Rakehell,http://www.rakehell.com/ (July 29, 2004), Cheryl Sneed, review of In the Prince's Bed; (March 7, 2005), Cheryl Sneed, review of To Pleasure a Prince; (June 23, 2005), Cheryl Sneed, review of One Night with a Prince; (July 10, 2007), Valarie Pelissero, review of Beware a Scot's Revenge.

Regency Romance Writers,http://regencyromancewriters.com/ (May 12, 2004), MaryGrace Meloche, review of The Pirate Lord.

Risky Regencies,http://riskyregencies.blogspot.com/ (May 20, 2007), "Sabrina Jeffries Interview!"

Road to Romance,http://www.roadtoromance.com/ (May 5, 2004), Janean Nusz, review of Married to the Viscount; (May 4, 2007), Janean Nusz, review of The School for Heiresses.

Romance Review,http://www.aromancereview.com/ (July 9, 2007), interview with Sabrina Jeffries.

Roundtable Reviews,http://www.roundtablereviews.com/ (July 10, 2007), Robert H. Goss, reviews of Only a Duke Will Do and The School for Heiresses.

Sabrina Jeffries Home Page,http://www.sabrinajeffries.com (July 9, 2007).