M. J. Putney: A Summary
A lifelong reader of science fiction and fantasy, M. J. Putney can still quote Robert Heinlein with no encouragement whatsoever. Born and raised in the farm country of Upstate New York, she is a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in eighteenth-century British literature and industrial design.
After graduation, she took her portfolio and bought a one-way ticket to San Francisco, not even realizing that in some circles such behavior might be considered slightly unbalanced. She followed a peripatetic path to Southern California and Oxford, England, doing various sorts of graphic design, before running out of restlessness in the lovely state of Maryland.
Her freelance graphic design career faded away after she bought her first computer and realized that she had found the writing tool that could turn daydreams into books. Or to put it in other words—she had finally found out what she wanted to do when she grew up.
Since she was a great consumer of historical novels, especially those of Georgette Heyer, when she sat down to see if she could write a book, what came out was a Regency romance. This proved a fortunate direction that has led to a successful career as a romance writer.
Under the name Mary Jo Putney, she has written thirty books (compiling a definitive list is harder than one might think!) and received two RITA awards (and nine nominations) from the Romance Writers of America. Her books have appeared on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USAToday bestseller lists.
However, her love of fantasy and science fiction stayed with her, and in recent years she began adding fantasy elements to her historical romances. Fantasy, romance, and history proved to be natural partners. Her first book in the Guardian romantic fantasy series, A Kiss of Fate, was named as one of the top five romances of the year by the Library Journal.
The second Guardian novel, Stolen Magic, escaped her romance editor at Ballantine and scampered down the hallway, ending up at Del Rey. This was the coolest surprise since the shocking and glorious day when an editor actually offered cash money for her first book. Future Guardian books will be published by Del Rey under the name M. J. Putney.
M. J. says that telling stories is one of the all-time best ways of earning a living, the only real drawback being actually sitting down and writing the books. |
