McCARTHY, Erin

PERSONAL:

Married; children: two.

ADDRESSES:

Home—OH. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE FICTION

Bad Boys Online (novellas), Brava (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Lori Foster and Morgan Leigh) Bad Boys in Black Tie (stories), Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2004.

Houston, We Have a Problem (novel), Brava (New York, NY), 2004.

Smart Mouth (novel), Brava (New York, NY), 2004.

(With Jen Nicholas and Jordan Summers) Bad Boys Over Easy (stories), Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

A Date with the Other Side (novel), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2005.

Mouth to Mouth (novel), Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2005.

The Pregnancy Test, Brava (New York, NY), 2005.

Heiress for Hire (novel), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

High Stakes (novel; first in "Vegas Vampire" trilogy), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

Bit the Jackpot (novel; second in "Vegas Vampire" trilogy), Berkley Sensation (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Lori Foster and Amy Garvey) Bad Boys of Summer, Kensington (New York, NY), 2006.

(With HeleKay Dimon, and Lori Foster) When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys (stories), Kensington (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of or contributor to Miss Extreme Congeniality, and You Don't Know Jack. Contributor to Merry Christmas Baby, Kensington (New York, NY), 2004; Perfect for the Beach, Brava/Kensington (New York, NY), 2004; The Night before Christmas, Kensington (New York, NY), 2005; and The Naked Truth, Berkley (New York, NY), 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Erin McCarthy is a contemporary romance novelist whose first book, Bad Boys Online, was published after she won a Web site contest. The book is composed of three novellas, with each story revolving around computer technology. For example, "Hard Drive" involves an office tryst that begins when Kindra is caught by a coworker reading a naughty e-mail from her boyfriend. "Press Any Key" features two office workers sent to a couples counseling section by their boss, who sees that they have problems working together. In "User Friendly," a caterer discovers that someone has changed the photo of her on her Web site to make her appear naked. When she seeks help from a friend to fix it, she is determined to keep the relationship strictly business. Barb Hicks, writing on the Best Reviews Web site, commented that she "thoroughly enjoyed each novella from the first page in the first story to the last page in the last story and can only wish that each novella were longer."

In Houston, We Have a Problem, McCarthy tells the story of Dr. Houston Hayes, who propositions a fellow doctor who is not his type just so he can get over lusting over her. Tanya Kacik, writing for the RomanticTimes Online, called the romance "a fast-paced read with emotionally deep characters." Smart Mouth features FBI agent Derek Knight working with reporter Reese Hampton after Hampton discovers evidence on a price-fixing scheme that Knight mistakenly left in the wrong rental car. Romantic Times Online contributor Jill Brager noted the author's "gift for humor." Barb Hicks, once again writing on the Best Reviews Web site, referred to the book as "awesome" and also noted the "fun cast of secondary characters."

A Date with the Other Side features a businessman, Boston Macnamara, who rents an old Victorian house that is part of a ghost tour, which leads to a romance with the tour's guide, the recently divorced Shelby Tucker. The hesitant couple is soon helped along in their romance by some ghostly visitors. Romantic Times Online contributor Jill M. Smith called the novel a "warmhearted and delightful tale." In the novel Mouth to Mouth, the deaf Laurel Wilkins tries to get over her loneliness by making a blind date, only to mistake policeman Russ Evans for her date. Russ, who has been on a stakeout to find a man who has been wooing lonely women and then robbing them, thinks that Laurel is on the crook's list for duping. Maria Hatton, writing in Booklist, noted the novel's "pair of exceptionally engaging characters."

The Pregnancy Test features New York yuppie Mandy Keeling, who finds herself pregnant, a condition that sends her boyfriend running out of town. When she interviews for a job, she vomits in the trash can but is hired anyway and soon finds herself attracted to her new boss while on a business trip, which leads her to try to hide her pregnancy. In a review on the Best Reviews Web site, Harriet Klausner called The Pregnancy Test "an enjoyable lighthearted tale." Heiress for Hire is about the spoiled Amanda Delmar, who is cut off from her father's funds and must find her first job at age twenty-six. When she hires on to help Danny Tucker care for his newfound eight-year-old daughter, a romance soon develops. "This is the perfect blend of sentiment and silliness, heat and heart," wrote Terri Clark in the Romantic Times Online.

High Stakes is the first romance novel in a projected vampire series and features casino-owning vampire Ethan Carrick. Up for reelection as president of the vampire nation, Ethan seeks to find a mate to bolster his campaign and soon has his eyes on district attorney Alexis Baldazzi. "This amusing often biting vampire romance stars a likable hero and an aggressive in your face heroine," wrote Harriet Klausner on the Best Reviews Web site. McCarthy has also continued to write short stories and novellas and has contributed both to several anthologies. For example, her contribution to When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys, "The Lady of the Lake," features Violet Caruthers, who is seeking a man to help her become a mother, which leads to a boating accident and a rescue by baseball star Dylan Diaz. Best Reviews Web site contributor Kristi Ahlers called McCarthy's entry in the anthology along with the other stories "sexy fun reads with entertaining characters."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, December 1, 2004, Maria Hatton, review of Mouth to Mouth, p. 642; August, 2004, Maria Hatton, review of Houston, We Have a Problem, p. 1909; Jan 1, 2006, Maria Hatton, review of Heiress for Hire, p. 71.

MBR Bookwatch, April, 2005, review of A Date with the Other Side.

ONLINE

All about Romance,http://www.likesbooks.com/ (February 6, 2006), "A Quick Q&A with Erin McCarthy: Bad Boys and More!"

Best Reviews,http://thebestreviews.com/ (August 15, 2003), Barb Hicks, review of Bad Boys Online; (March 15, 2004), Barb Hicks, review of Smart Mouth; (October 1, 2004), Barb Hicks, review of Merry Christmas Baby; (April 29, 2005), Barb Hicks, review of A Date with the Other Side; (June 2, 2005), DeborahAnne MacGillivray, review of Mouth to Mouth; (September 28, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Night before Christmas; (October 20, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Pregnancy Test; (October 25, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of The Naked Truth; (December 27, 2005), Harriet Klausner, review of Heiress for Hire; (April 25, 2006), Kristi Ahlers, review of Bad Boys of Summer; (July 2, 2006), Kristi Ahlers, review of When Good Things Happen to Bad Boys; (July 25, 2006), Harriet Klausner, review of High Stakes.

Erin McCarthy Home Page,http://www.erinmccarthy.net (September 27, 2006).

Romantic Times Online,http://www.romantictimes.com/ (September 27, 2006), Suzie Housely, review of Bad Boys Online; Jill Brager, review of Smart Mouth; Tanya Kacik, review of Houston, We Have a Problem and Mouth to Mouth; Jill M. Smith, review of A Date with the Other Side and High Stakes; Cheryl A. Hoahing, review of the Pregnancy Test; Terri Clark, review of Heiress for Hire; Susan Mitchell, review of Bad Boys Over Easy. *