Mahon, Annette

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Mahon, Annette

PERSONAL: Born in Hilo, HI. Education: Master's degree. Hobbies and other interests: Quilting.

ADDRESSES: Home—Paradise Valley, AZ. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Avalon Books, 160 Madison Ave., 5th Fl., New York, NY 10016. E-mail—[email protected]; [email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Formerly worked in public and university libraries; worked for a Veteran's Administration Hospital Library for one year. Host of library cable television show, The Children's Room, in Fort Wayne, IN.

MEMBER: Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Novelists, Inc.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS

Above the Rainbow, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Lei of Love, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Maui Rose, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Chase Your Dreams, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Just Friends, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 1998.

The Secret Admirer, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Secret Wedding, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2002.

The Secret Santa, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

The Secret Beau, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2004.

The Secret Wish, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

MYSTERIES

A Phantom Death, Avalon Books (New York, NY), 2000.

An Ominous Death, Five Star Press (Waterville, ME), 2006.

OTHER

Author's articles have appeared in Mystery Readers Journal and TCI Bulletin, for Thimble Collectors International.

SIDELIGHTS: Annette Mahon spent many years as a librarian before turning her attention to writing romance and mystery books full time. In her romances, Mahon is noted for her Hawaiian settings and multicultural lovers, and in many instances, she involves her romantic leads in unsolved mysteries. In Just Friends, for example, Kimo Ahuna becomes involved with Ilima Lyman while trying to find out who caused the hit-and-run accident that put Ilima's brother in a coma. Lei of Love, pairs Dana Long with Brian Veira, a police detective looking for Dana's missing father.

An avid quilter, Mahon has also put her avocation into her books, such as her romance novel Chase Your Dreams, which features Pamela Perreira, who owns a successful quilt shop and falls in love with a triathlete. Mahon wrote a prequel to this book titled Above the Rainbow.

In The Secret Wedding, the author tells the story of a Hawaiian resort's wedding coordinator, Luana, who develops a relationship with Jake Lawrence, who has asked her to arrange a wedding for a secret celebrity couple. Mahon writes of the romance between Kim Ascencion and her high school classmate Greg Yamamoto in her novel The Secret Beau. Greg, a nerd in high school, now is a handsome and successful veterinarian. The starting point for their relationship is when Kim invites Greg to pretend to be her boyfriend for a wedding she is attending. Kristin Ramsdell, writing in Library Journal, noted that the author "does a masterly job of putting a Hawaiian twist on an old theme."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, September 15, 2000, Nina Davis, reviews of Maui Rose, Lei of Love, Just Friends, Chase Your Dreams, and Above the Rainbow, p. 224; September 15, 2002, John Charles and Shelley Mosley, review of The Secret Wedding, p. 219.

Library Journal, August, 2004, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Secret Beau, p. 56.