Johnston, Joan 1948-

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JOHNSTON, Joan 1948-

PERSONAL: Born September 18, 1948, in Little Rock, AR; daughter of George Robert (in U.S. Air Force) and Emogene Ruth (a music teacher; maiden name, Schaer) Mertens; married Hugh C. Johnston III, February 14, 1970 (divorced, April 5, 1986); children: Heather Lynne, Blake Delos. Education: Jacksonville University, B.A., 1970; University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, M.A., 1971; University of Texas at Austin, J.D. (with honors), 1980. Hobbies and other interests: Horseback riding, two-stepping, Dolphins football.

ADDRESSES: Home—Pembroke Pines, FL. Agent— Denise Marcil, Denise Marcil Literary Agency, Inc., 685 West End Ave., No. 9C, New York, NY 10025.

CAREER: Weekly Herald, San Antonio, TX, news editor and drama critic, 1971-73; Southwest Texas Junior College, Uvalde, director of theater, 1973-77; Hunton & Williams, Richmond, VA, attorney, 1980-83; Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, Miami, FL, attorney, 1983-85; Barry University, Miami Shores, FL, instructor, 1985-88; University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, assistant professor, 1988-91; writer, 1991—. Broward County Chamber of Commerce, member of Cultural Affairs Committee; Florida Bar, member; Virginia Bar, associate.

MEMBER: Authors Guild, Novelists, Inc., Western Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Order of Barristers.

AWARDS, HONORS: Romantic Times Awards, outstanding new western romance writer, 1987, for Colter's Wife, and best western series, 1989, for Frontier Woman, Comanche Woman, and Texas Woman, BookRak Award for Bestselling Historical Romance, 1991, for Sweetwater Seduction, Best Romance Award from Romantic Times Booksellers That Care, 1992, for The Barefoot Bride.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS

A Loving Defiance, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1985.

Colter's Wife, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Frontier Woman, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Fit to Be Tied, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1988.

Comanche Woman, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Texas Woman, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1989.

Marriage by the Book, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1989.

Sweetwater Seduction, Dell (New York, NY), 1991.

Never Tease a Wolf, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1991.

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1991.

The Barefoot Bride, Dell (New York, NY), 1992.

A Little Time in Texas, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Honey and the Hired Hand, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Kid Calhoun, Dell (New York, NY), 1993.

Outlaw's Bride, Dell (New York, NY), 1993.

The Rancher and the Runaway Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

The Cowboy and the Princess, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

The Wrangler and the Rich Girl, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1993.

The Cowboy Takes a Wife, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

The Unforgiving Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

The Headstrong Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1994.

The Inheritance, Dell (New York, NY), 1995.

The Disobedient Bride, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1995.

Maverick Heart, Dell (New York, NY), 1995.

Captive, Dell (New York, NY), 1996.

After the Kiss, Dell (New York, NY), 1997.

The Bodyguard, Dell (New York, NY), 1998.

The Bridegroom, Dell (New York, NY), 1999.

Hawkes Way Bachelors, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2000.

The Cowboy, Dell (New York, NY), 2000.

The Texan, Dell (New York, NY), 2001.

Hawkes Way Rogues, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2001.

The Loner, Dell (New York, NY), 2002.

Hawkes Way Grooms, Silhouette (New York, NY), 2002.

Sisters Found, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

The Price, Pocket (New York, NY), 2004.

Contributor to anothologies, including Untamed: Maverick Hearts, Harlequin (Tarrytown, NY), 1993; To Have and to Hold, Avon (New York, NY), 1994; A Christmas Together, Avon, 1994; Lonestar Christmas, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1999.

SIDELIGHTS: Western romance writer Joan Johnston once told CA: "I was a reader before I was a writer. As an attorney with a major national firm, who had a six-year-old child and a six-week-old baby when I started practicing law, I found escape from stress in historical romance novels. I facilitated a sixty-three-million-dollar municipal bond closing on Wall Street and attended my first romance conference in New York the same weekend.

"I write about the West because I've lived there, in Wyoming and Texas, as the daughter of an Air Force staff sergeant. I learned to ride horseback when my father was stationed in Morocco, North Africa. I have an eclectic background: theater director, drama critic, newspaper news editor, college professor, and lawyer. That has helped me keep an open mind when I write. I write romance because it celebrates the best of life: love and happily-ever-after endings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 15, 2001, Diana Tixier Herald, review of The Texan, p. 1359; November 15, 2002, Maria Hatton, review of Comanche Woman, p. 582; March 15, 2003, Maria Hatton, review of The Price, p. 73.

Publishers Weekly, July 1, 1988, Peggy Kaganoff, review of Frontier Woman, p. 73; March 10, 1989, Peggy Kaganoff, review of Comanche Woman, p. 80; November 30, 1990, Peggy Kaganoff, review of Sweetwater Seduction, p. 67; December 6, 1991, review of The Barefoot Bride, p. 67; October 11, 1993, review of Outlaw's Bride, p. 83; November 21, 1994, review of The Inheritance, p. 72; October 30, 1995, review of Maverick Heart, p. 57; March 25, 1996, review of Captive, p. 81; February 21, 2000, review of The Cowboy, p. 70; March 18, 2002, review of The Loner, p. 84; November 18, 2002, review of Comanche Woman, p. 47; March 17, 2003, review of The Price, p. 55.