Emilie Richards

Emilie Richards was born in Bethesda, Maryland and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. After receiving an undergraduate degree in American studies from Florida State University, Richards earned a master's degree in family development from Virginia Tech.

She worked as a therapist in a mental health center, before becoming a parent services coordinator for families enrolled in Head Start and then working in several pastoral counseling centers. Richards' husband is a Unitarian Universalist minister.[1]

Writing career Richards began writing in 1983 after the birth of her fourth child. Her son would sit on her lap as she wrote, and Richards titled her first completed work, Brendan's Song, after him.[2] The book was published in 1985 in the Silhouette Romance category line.[3] She has subsequently written over 40 novels for Silhouette, including six, all set in Australia or New Zealand, written during a four-month sabbatical in Australia.[2]

As a result of years working as a family counselor, her novels "feature complex characterizations and in-depth explorations of social issues."[4] Richards won a Romance Writers of America RITA Award, the highest award given to romance authors, in 1994 for Dragonslayer.[4] Richards has also been nominated three times for Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards and is a recipient of their Career Achievement Award.[5]

Despite the occasional use of overly clichéd lines, Richards' writing "effortlessly flows from page to page."[6] Her characters often sport unusual quirks, such as a penchant for strange sandwich ingredients, which gives the story an added charm.[6]

In 2004, Richards began a new series of single-title novels centered around quilting. These novels were inspired by a volunteer stint with VISTA. While she was an undergraduate, Richards spent a summer living in the Arkansas Ozark Mountains, helping the residents and learning to quilt.[1]

The following year, Richards began writing murder mysteries in addition to romance novels. The novels, in a series called Ministry is Murder, are based partially on her experience as a minister's wife and are written in first-person from the perspective of the heroine, minister's wife "Aggie" Wilcox. Characters in this series are "interesting [and] well-developed," although suspense is "minimal."

On the Web

• Official Website [1]
• Wikipedia [2]

Books

• All The Right Reasons - 1988
• All Those Years Ago - 1991
• Aloha Always - 1987
• Angel And The Saint - 1986
• Bayou Midnight - 1987
• Beautiful Lies - 1999
• Beware False Profits - 2007
• Billy Ray Wainwright - 1998
• Blessed Be The Busybody - 2005
• Brendan's Song - 1985
• Classic Encounter, A - 1988
• Color Of Light, The - 2015
• Desert Shadows - 1991
• Dragonslayer - 1993
• Duncan's Lady - 1995
• Endless Chain - 2005
• Family Of Strangers, A - 2019
• Fortunate Harbor - 2010
• Fox River - 2001
• From a Distance - 1992
• From Glowing Embers - 1988
• Fugitive - 1990
• Gilding The Lily - 1985
• Good Time Man - 1986
• Hanging By A Thread - 2004
• Happiness Key - 2009
• Hold Back The Night - 2017
• Home For The Holidays, A
• House Guests, The
• Iain Ross's Woman - 1995
• Iron Lace - 1996
• Island Glory - 1989
• Labor Dispute - 1990
• Lady Of The Night - 1986
• Let It Snow - 2013
• Let There Be Suspects - 2006
• Lie For A Lie, A - 2009
• Lover's Knot - 2006
• MacDougall's Darling - 1995
• Mail-Order Matty - 1996
• Mother's Day, A - 2010
• Naughty Or Nice - 1993
• Night Magic - 2018
• No River Too Wide - 2014
• Nobody's Child - 1998
• Once More With Feeling - 1996
• One Moment Past Midnight - 1999
• One Mountain Away - 2012
• One Perfect Rose - 1992
• Out Of The Ashes - 1992
• Outback Nights - 1987
• Parting Glass, The - 2003
• Prospect Street - 2002
• Rainbow Fire - 1989
• Rising Tides - 1997
• Runaway - 1990
• Season Of Miracles - 1986
• Sister's Choice - 2008
• Smoke Screen - 1988
• Something So Right - 1986
• Somewhere Between Luck And Trust - 2013
• Somewhere Out There - 1993
• Stranger's Son, A - 1997
• Sunset Bridge - 2011
• Surprise Of A Lifetime, The - 2019
• Swallow's Nest, The
• Sweet Georgia Gal - 1985
• Sweet Homecoming - 1987
• Sweet Mockingbird's Call - 1986
• Sweet Mountain Magic - 1986
• Sweet Sea Spirit - 1986
• That Old Familiar Feeling - 2003
• To The One I Love - 2010
• Touching Stars - 2007
• Treasure Beach - 2012
• Trouble With Joe, The - 1994
• Truth For A Truth, A - 2010
• Twice Upon A Time - 1997
• Twilight Shadows - 1991
• Unmasking, The - 1985
• Way Back Home, The - 1990
• Wedding Ring - 2004
• When We Were Sisters - 2016
• Whiskey Island - 2000
• Woman Without A Name - 1996

Non-Fiction

• Quilt Along With Emilie Richards: Lover’s Knot

Series/Related Books

American Hero (multi-author series)

12. Dragonslayer

Family

1. Runaway
2. The Way Back Home
3. Fugitive
4. One Perfect Rose
5. The Trouble With Joe

From Bud To Blossom (multi-author series)

1. Mail-Order Matty

Goddesses Anonymous

1. One Mountain Away
2. Somewhere Between Luck And Trust
3. No River Too Wide

Happiness Key

1. Happiness Key
2. Fortunate Harbor
3. Sunset Bridge

3.5 Treasure Beach

Hawaii

1. Aloha Always
2. Island Glory

Iron Lace

1. Iron Lace
2. Rising Tides

Men In Blue (multi-author series)

• One Moment Past
• Midnight

The Men Of Midnight

1. Duncan's Lady
2. Iain Ross's Woman
3. MacDougall's Darling

Ministry Is Murder

1. Blessed Be the Busybody
2. Let There Be Suspects
3. Beware False Profits
4. A Lie For A Lie
5. A Truth For A Truth

New Orleans Nights

1. Lady Of The Night
2. Bayou Midnight
3. Night Magic

Otherworldly

1. From A Distance
2. Somewhere Out There

Reincarnation

1. Once More With Feeling
2. Twice Upon A Time

Runaway

1. Runaway
2. The Way Back Home
3. Fugitive

Shadows

1. Desert Shadows
2. Twilight Shadows

Shenandoah Album

1. Wedding Ring
2. Endless Chain
3. Lover's Knot
4. Touching Stars
5. Sister's Choice

Sonny's Girls (multi-author series)

• All Those Years Ago

Sweet Five

1. Sweet Georgia Gal
2. Sweet Sea Spirit
3. Sweet Mockingbird's Call
4. Sweet Mountain Magic
5. Sweet Homecoming

Tales Of The Pacific

1. From Glowing Embers
2. Smoke Screen
3. Rainbow Fire
4. Out Of The Ashes

Awards

• 1994 RITA Award Winner - Long Contemporary Romance, Dragonslayer
• 1994 RT Reviewers Choice Award Winner - Series W.I.S.H. Hero, Somewhere Out There
• 1993 RT Reviewers Choice Award Winner - Series Romance Book Of The Year, From A Distance

Recognitions

• 2021 Library Journal Starred Review, The House Guests
• 2016 RT Book Reviews Top Pick, When We Were Sisters
• 2015 RT Book Reviews Top Pick, The Color Of Light
• 2014 RT Book Reviews Top Pick, No River Too Wide
• 2013 RT Book Reviews Top Pick, Somewhere Between Luck And Trust
• 1998 RITA Award Finalist - Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance, Twice Upon A Time
• 1997 RITA Award Finalist - Romantic Suspense, Woman Without A Name
• 1996 RITA Award Finalist - Romantic Suspense/Gothic Romance, Iain Ross's Woman
• 1996 RITA Award Finalist - Paranormal Romance, Duncan's Lady
• 1995 RITA Award Finalist - Long Contemporary Romance, The Trouble With Joe
• 1994 RITA Award Finalist - Futuristic/Fantasy/Paranormal Romance, Somewhere Out There
• 1992 RITA Award Finalist - Romantic Suspense, Desert Shadows
• 1991 RITA Award Finalist - Long Contemporary Romance, Runaway
• 1990 RITA Award Finalist - Romantic Suspense, Rainbow Fire
• 1990 RITA Award Finalist - Traditional Romance, Island Glory
• 1989 RITA Award Finalist - Long Contemporary Romance, From Glowing Embers
• 1988 RITA Award Finalist - Long Contemporary Romance, Bayou Midnight

Awards (body of work)

• 1996 Romance Readers Anonymous Awards Nominee - Best Series/Category Romance Author
• 1992-1993 RT Career Achievement Award Winner - Best All Around Series Romance