Miller, Linda Lael 1949- (Linda Lael)

PERSONAL:

Maiden name rhymes with "sale"; born June 10, 1949, in Spokane, WA; daughter of Grady Eugene (a U.S. Park Service foreman) and Hazel Lael; married Rick M. Miller (a shipyard painter), October 12, 1968 (divorced, July, 1987); children: Wendy, Diane. Education: Attended high school in Northport, WA. Politics: Independent. Religion: Methodist.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Spokane, WA. Agent—Irene Goodman, Irene Goodman Literary Agency, 521 5th Ave., 17th Fl., New York, NY 10017.

CAREER:

Writer. Rockwood Clinic, Spokane, WA, clerk, 1968-71; Aetna Insurance Co., Spokane, clerk, 1978-79; Pan American World Airways, Bangor, WA, clerk, 1980-81; writer, 1981—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Most Sensual Historical Romance Award, Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice, 1987, for Wanton Angel; Career Achievement Award, Romantic Times, 1990-91, for Series Love & Laughter, 1996-97, for historical fantasy; Best Historical Romance Sequel, Romantic Times, 1990-91, for Emma and the Outlaw; Best Historical Romance, Romantic Times, 1991-92, for Daniel's Bride; Talisman Book of the Year, 1993, for Forever and the Night; Best Historical Time-Travel, 1995-96, for Knights; Best Long Historical Romance, Greater Detroit Romance Writers of America Booksellers' Best Award, 1999, for A Springwater Christmas.

WRITINGS:

Fletcher's Woman, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1983.

Desire and Destiny, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1983.

Snowflakes on the Sea, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1984.

Banner O'Brien, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1984.

Willow, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1984.

Part of the Bargain, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1985.

Corbin's Fancy, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1985.

State Secrets, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1985.

Memory's Embrace, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1986.

Ragged Rainbows, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1986.

Lauralee, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Wanton Angel, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Moonfire, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Used-to-Be Lovers, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1988.

Angelfire, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1989.

Just Kate, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1989, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

My Darling Melissa, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Daring Moves, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Mixed Messages, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Escape from Cabiz, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1990, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1991.

Glory, Glory, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1991, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Wild about Harry, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1991, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

There and Now, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Here and Then, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

Daniel's Bride, Thorndike Press (Thorndike, ME), 1993.

Taming Charlotte, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1993.

For All Eternity, Berkley (New York, NY), 1994.

Princess Annie, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Forever and the Night, Thorndike Press (Thorndike, ME), 1994.

The Legacy, Thorndike Press (Thorndike, ME), 1995.

Pirates, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Knights, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1996.

My Outlaw, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Heatwave, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1998.

Two Brothers: The Lawman & the Gunslinger, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1998.

The Vow, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

In Our Dreams, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1998.

One Wish, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Courting Susannah, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Into the Night, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Time without End, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Out of the Shadows, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2002.

(With Jennifer Blake and Kristin Hannah) With Love, Berkley Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Don't Look Now, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Never Look Back, Atria Books (New York, NY), 2004.

One Last Look, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2006.

The Man from Stone Creek, HQN (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2006.

"ORPHAN TRAIN" SERIES

Lily and the Major, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1990.

Emma and the Outlaw, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1991.

Caroline and the Raider, Silhouette (New York, NY), 1992.

"SPRINGWATER SEASONS" SERIES

Springwater Seasons: Rachel, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Springwater Seasons: Miranda, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1999.

A Springwater Christmas, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Jessica, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 1999.

Savannah, Thorndike Press (Thorndike, ME), 1999.

Springwater Wedding, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2001.

"WOMEN OF PRIMROSE CREEK" SERIES

Bridget, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Christy, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Skye, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Megan, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Last Chance Cafe, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2002.

"MCKETTRICK COWBOYS" SERIES

High Country Bride, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2002.

Shotgun Bride, Pocket Star Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Secondhand Bride, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2004.

McKettrick's Choice, HQN (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

"MCKETTRICK MEN" SERIES

McKettrick's Luck, HQN (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2005.

McKettrick's Heart, HQN (Don Mills, Ontario, Canada), 2007.

McKettrick's Pride, Center Point (Thorndike, ME), 2007.

OTHER

Contributor of stories to confession magazines and Woman's World. Also contributor to anthologies, including Forever and the Night, edited by Jayne Ann Krentz, Berkley (New York, NY), 1993; Everlasting Love, edited by Jayne Ann Krentz, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1997; Summer Sensations, edited by Linda Howard, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1998; Always & Forever, edited by Linda Howard, Harlequin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1998; Jingle All the Way, Kensington (New York, NY), 2004; Beach Blanket Bad Boys, Kensington (New York, NY), 2005; and I'll Be Home for Christmas, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

"As an author of both historical and contemporary romances," wrote a Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers contributor, "Linda Lael Miller is acknowledged to write some of the genre's most explicitly sensual love scenes." Miller's historicals are often set in her native Pacific Northwest, while her novels set in contemporary times feature elements such as time travel and supernatural visitations, including ghosts and vampires. Her works have proved their attraction to both readers and critics. The author, wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor about Springwater Seasons: Rachel, "provides all the necessary components, including well-defined subplots and characters, to create a warm and cozy love story." "Miller," noted another Publishers Weekly contributor writing about My Outlaw, "tugs at the heart-strings as few authors can."

Whatever the circumstances surrounding her heroines, Miller's works almost invariably build to climaxes realized in torrid physical encounters. In her historicals, including Corbin's Fancy, My Darling Melissa, Lily and the Major, and Daniel's Bride, Miller "follow[s] a familiar storyline of romance novels," explained a Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers contributor. "A feisty heroine and a proud, hard-headed man meet, and are paired into an unlikely couple. Sparks begin to fly when she insists on declaring or maintaining her independence, no matter how superficially. They disagree on just about everything and seem incompatible except in bed. They are so involved in mutual pleasure that they forget their differences." Similar encounters mark Miller's contemporary and fantasy romances, such as Wild About Harry, in which a woman is visited by the ghost of her dead husband, or Knights, in which a young girl finds herself transported to thirteenth-century England, or even Time without End, in which a 600-year-old vampire reencounters a woman he knew in one of her past incarnations. "Once consummated, the relationship flares into passion at almost every opportunity," commented a contributor to Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers. "Occasionally, the heroine gets to take charge and torment her man to the point of exhaustion, but usually he controls the situation. With such a style it is no wonder that Miller was named ‘the Most Outstanding Writer of Sensual Romance.’"

In addition to her historical and supernatural romances, the author has become well known for a series of romances set in the West, such as McKettrick's Choice and The Man From Stone Creek. In an interview with Martina Bexte on the BookLoons Web site, Miller explained her love of Westerns: "To me, the cowboy is the great North American myth, the ideal of honor, courage and persistence we need to live up to. Also, I feel as if I grew up in the West, even though I wasn't born until 1949. Our first residence was a cabin, insulated with unfolded coffin boxes from the mortuary in Colville. (Pronounced CALLville, not Coalville.) We had no electricity or running water. My dad rodeoed for a while, and my uncle, Jack ‘Jiggs’ Lael, was quite a star on the circuit. He rode at Madison Square Garden and kissed several Miss Americas. He was Elvis handsome, too."

Miller has featured men from the McKettrick family in a series of Western-based romance novels. For example, in McKettrick's Choice, Holt McKettrick leaves his would-be mail-order bride and sets out to save a former Texas Ranger partner from being hanged on false charges. In the process of his adventure, he meets Lorelei Fellows, a beautiful but tough woman who can play poker and wants to start a cattle ranch. In a review of McKettrick's Choice, a Publishers Weekly contributor commented: "Strong characterization and a vivid western setting make for a fine historical romance." The Man from Stone Creek is another Western romance, this time featuring Ranger Sam O'Ballivan. Sam is working undercover as a schoolteacher when he meets and falls for the local post office mistress and mercantile store manager, Maddie Chancelor. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the author's "tough Eastwoodian cowboy cuts a sharp, unexpectedly funny figure in a classroom full of rambunctious frontier kids."

Miller once told CA: "I consider Norman Vincent Peale's books invaluable to anyone, writer or non-writer. I've read them all. I read a lot of history, of course, and books on the writing craft. I would love to travel and intend to."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Twentieth-Century Romance and Historical Writers, 3rd edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1994.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 1, 1994, Melanie Duncan, review of For All Eternity, p. 478; June 1, 1995, Denise Perry Donavin, review of Pirates, p. 1730.

Library Journal, October 15, 2006, Kristin Ramsdell, review of I'll Be Home for Christmas, p. 49.

Publishers Weekly, January 19, 1990, Penny Kaganoff, review of My Darling Melissa, p. 104; October 26, 1990, Penny Kaganoff, review of Lily and Major, p. 63; May 3, 1991, Penny Kaganoff, review of Emma and the Outlaw, p. 69; July 20, 1992, review of Daniel's Bride, p. 244; September 27, 1994, review of Taming Charlotte, p. 59; October 3, 1994, review of For All Eternity, p. 66; May 29, 1995, review of Pirates, p. 67; September 25, 1995, review of Time without End, p. 53; March 25, 1996, review of Knights, p. 61; March 17, 1997, review of My Outlaw, p. 80; February 8, 1999, review of Springwater Seasons: Rachel, p. 210; October 20, 2003, review of Shotgun Bride, p. 40; June 28, 2004, review of Never Look Back, p. 30; November 29, 2004, review of Secondhand Bride, p. 28; May 9, 2005, review of McKettrick's Choice, p. 48; October 3, 2005, review of One Last Look, p. 46; April 10, 2006, review of The Man from Stone Creek, p. 46; December 12, 2006, review of McKettrick's Luck, p. 51; January 22, 2007, review of McKettrick's Pride, pp. 168-169; February 12, 2007, review of McKettrick's Heart, p. 69.

ONLINE

BookLoons,http://www.bookloons.com/ (April 13, 2007), Martina Bexte, review of Don't Look Now and "Linda Lael Miller Comes Full Circle in Life and in Storytelling," interview with author.

Linda Lael Miller Home Page,http://www.lindalaelmiller.com (April 13, 2007).