Rochelle Alers

Rochelle Alers was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. After earning degrees in sociology and psychology, she taught pre-school for a time before entering the business world.

Alers began writing her first novel in 1984, after a decade of reading romance novels. She finished her first manuscript, which became the novel, Hideway in 1985. After several rejections because her attempt did not fit the formula of a category romance novel, Alers perfected her style and was first published by Doubleday Books in 1988. She has since been published through St. Martin's Press, Ballantine Books, Odyssey, Arabesque, and Genesis Press, as well as through Silhoutte's Desire line.

Almost two million copies of her novels are now in print, and they have regularly appeared on the Waldenbooks, Borders, and Essence bestseller lists. Alers has been awarded the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

Alers writes for two hours every morning, before leaving for her full-time job as a Community Liasion Specialist for state-funded substance abuse programs on Long Island. She lives in Freeport, New York.

Bibliography

Single Novels

• My Love's Keeper (Nov. 1991)
• Happily Ever After (Sept. 1994)
• Home Sweet Home (Dec. 1995)
• Careless Whispers (Dec. 1996)
• Reckless Surrender (April 1997)
• Gentle Yearning (July 1998)
• Summer Magic (May 1999)
• A Younger Man (Nov. 2002)
• Secrets Never Told (July 2003)
• Lessons Of A Lowcountry Summer (May 2004)
• All My Tomorrows (Aug. 2005)
• Stranger In My Arms (April 2007)

The Hideaway Series

Prequels

1. Best-Kept Secrets (January 2006)

First Generation

1. Hideaway (May 1995)
2. Hidden Agenda (April 1997)
3. Vows (December 1997)
4. Heaven Sent (July 1998)

Daughters and Sisters Trilogy

1. Harvest Moon (December 1999)
2. Just Before Dawn (May 2000)
3. Private Passions (January 2001)

Sons and Brothers Trilogy

1. No Compromise (February 2002)
2. Homecoming (November 2002)
3. Renegade (June 2003)

The Blackstones of Virgina

1. The Long Hot Summer (February 2004)
2. Very Private Duty (October 2004)
3. Beyond Business (April 2005)

Anthologies

• "Summer Madness" in Four Degrees Of Heat (with Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Brenda L Thomas and Crystal Lacey Winslow) - July 2004
• "Love Lessons" in Let's Get It On (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) - Nov. 2004
• "Reunion" in Living Large (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) - Jan. 2003
• Novella in Island Magic (with Shirley Hailstock, Marcia King-Gamble and Felicia Mason) - Feb. 2000
• "Sweet Surrender" in Della's House Of Style (with Donna Hill, Felicia Mason and Francis Ray - July 2000
• Novella in Welcome To Leo's (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) - Dec. 2000
• "Stand-in bride" in Going To The Chapel (with Gwynne Forster, Donna Hill and Francis Ray) - June 2001
• "First Fruits" in 'Tis The Season (with Donna Hill and Candice Poarch) - Oct. 2001
• "From the Heart" in Island Bliss (with Carmen Green, Marcia King-Gamble and Felicia Mason) - Feb. 2002
• "Anniversary" in Twilight Moods - Sept. 2002
• "Hearts of Gold" in Love Letters (with Donna Hill and Janice Sims) - Feb. 1997
• Novella in Rosie's Curl And Weave (with Donna Hill, Felicia Mason and Francis Ray) - Feb. 1999
• "Fresh Fruits" in Holiday Cheer (with Angela Benson and Shirley Hailstock)- Dec. 1995

Nonfiction

• Getting Political: Stories of a Woman Mayor (2002) (with Alice Crozier and Joan Darrah)

Awards

• 2003 Career Achievement Award Winner - Romantic Times Magazine - Multicultural Romance

Recognitions

1988 Trailblazer, Careless Whispers, Referenced in LaQuette's speech