Simpson, Patricia

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Simpson, Patricia

PERSONAL: Born in MT; married (divorced); married second husband; children: (first marriage) two daughters. Education: University of Washington, B.A. (art). Hobbies and other interests: Painting.

ADDRESSES: Agent—Natasha Kern Literary Agency, P.O. Box 1069, White Salmon, WA 98672. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Reviewer's Choice Award, Romantic Times, for The Legacy, Raven in Amber, and Lord of Forever; career achievement award, Romantic Times, 1997.

WRITINGS:

PARANORMAL ROMANCE NOVELS

Whisper of Midnight, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1991.

The Legacy, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.

Raven in Amber, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

The Haunting of Brier Rose, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.

The Night Orchid, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.

The Lost Goddess, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Lord of Forever, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1995.

Mystic Moon, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Just before Midnight, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

Jade, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.

The Dark Lord (first novel in "Forbidden Tarot" trilogy), Tor Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Dark Horse (second novel in "Forbdden Tarot" trilogy), Tor Books (New York, NY), 2005.

WORK IN PROGRESS: The Oracle of Avaris, the third book in the "Forbidden Tarot" trilogy.

SIDELIGHTS: Romance novelist Patricia Simpson told an interviewer for Fallen Angel Reviews online that she began to write while growing up in rural Montana, her creativity fueled by the remoteness and solitude of her life. Her first book was published in the early 1990s, but writing was often put on hold as she raised her daughters and worked at other jobs for an income. With her children grown, and after marrying a man she calls "a wonderful Scotsman," Simpson had the time to continue to pen her paranormal romances. She told the reviewer that, as an art major who had hoped to paint portraits, she also looks forward to having more time to paint.

After penning ten books, Simpson began her "Forbidden Tarot" trilogy. She described The Dark Lord, the first book in the series, as being "about a woman who finds a deck of cards in a golden box in Egypt. And when she opens them up, she releases the devil into her world. But this book is more than just a battle with Beelzebub—although that should be enough! It's really the introduction to my take on Egyptian history and the female role in human development, much like Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code presents his take on Christian history." The book features mathematics professor Rae Lambers, who has two men in her life, one of whom may be the devil. An online reviewer for Curled Up with a Good Book called the story "a scintillating powerhouse of a novel."

The tarot cards are in the possession of Claire Coulter in The Dark Horse. Claire's wealthy boss offers to pay for her brother's kidney transplant if she will take a map and a guide to find the fountain of youth, which is supposedly located in California. Booklist reviewer Patty Engelmann deemed this second installment "an engaging supernatural romance in which modern heroes confront an ancient form of evil."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2005, Nina C. Davis, review of The Dark Lord, p. 832; October 1, 2005, Patty Engelmann, review of The Dark Horse, p. 42.

Library Journal, January 1, 2005, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Dark Lord, p. 92; August 1, 2005, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Dark Horse, p. 62.