Halloway Scott, Susan

(Miranda Jarrett)

PERSONAL: Female. Education: Brown University, B.A. (art history).

ADDRESSES: Office—P.O. Box 1102, Paoli, PA 19301-1145.

CAREER: Writer.

AWARDS, HONORS: Romantic Times award nominations, 1996, for Sparhawk's Angel, 2000, for Starlight, 2001, for The Very Daring Duchess; Romantic Times award, 1999, for Wishing; finalist for two Romance Writers of America RITA awards.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM MIRANDA JARRETT

Gift of the Heart, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Captain's Bride, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Cranberry Point, Pocket Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Star Bright, Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2000.

The Very Comely Countess ("Napoleonic Wars" series), Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Very Daring Duchess ("Napoleonic Wars" series), Sonnet Books (New York, NY), 2001.

"SPARHAWK" SERIES ROMANCE NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM MIRANDA JARRETT

The Sparhawk Bride, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sparhawk's Lady, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Sparhawk's Angel, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1996.

The Secrets of Catie Hazard, Harlequin Books (New York, NY), 1997.

"FAIRBOURNE" SERIES ROMANCE NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM MIRANDA JARRETT

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

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

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

SIDELIGHTS: With a dozen books that have sold over two million copies, as well as numerous awards to her credit, Miranda Jarrett—the pen name of Susan Halloway Scott—has enjoyed considerable success as a writer in the area of historical romance. Her first published works—Sparhawk's Lady, The Sparhawk Bride, and Sparhawk's Angel—center around a single family in colonial-era America. In The Secrets of Catie Hazard, the heroine becomes pregnant by Anthony Sparhawk, a young soldier on his way to England. She marries an innkeeper, but eight years later Sparhawk returns—now as a British soldier fighting the rebellious colonials. Kristin Ramsdell in Library Journal called the book "a powerful story that transcends its historical setting."

The colonial era—specifically, the year 1721—also provides the setting for Wishing, which begins with a sea captain making a promise to the gods. Samson Fairbourne vows that if he finds "a young woman sweet in temper and without vanity, modest and truthful in words and manner, obedient and honorable," he will marry her, and after writing these words on a piece of paper, he seals the promise in an empty rum bottle and throws it in the ocean. In time Polly Bray, desperately struggling to survive after her father's death, finds the bottle and eventually winds up in Fairbourne's arms. Wrote Melanie Duncan in Booklist, "Jarrett fashions a winning nautical tale that is sure to appeal to all fans of colonial-era romances."

Moonlight and its sequel Sunrise also concern members of the Fairbourne family. In Sunrise, widower Daniel Fairbourne rescues Juliette LaCroix from the sea and nurses her back to health. A romance between them grows, but as the amnesiac Juliette gradually recovers the details of her past, the facts of her life seem to preclude any future relationship between the two. According to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, "Jarrett evokes the era with accuracy and draws her protagonists vividly and with charm."

The Napoleonic wars provide the backdrop for The Very Daring Duchess and its sequel, The Very Comely Countess. In the first installment Edward Ramsden, a dashing officer in the Royal Navy, comes ashore in Naples and visits a gallery featuring pornographic paintings and forged masterpieces. He is quite taken with the proprietress, Francesca Robin, who is half English and half Neapolitan. When the French threaten to invade the Italian city, Edward offers to marry Francesca to ensure her safe passage to England. "Jarrett's sex scenes are steamy and descriptive," noted a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, while Kathe Robin, in the Romantic Times, concluded that "you can always count on Ms. Jarrett to gift us with something intelligent, new, and vibrant."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 1999, Melanie Duncan, review of Wishing, p. 841.

Library Journal, May 15, 1997, Kristin Ramsdell, review of The Secrets of Catie Hazard, p. 66.

Publishers Weekly, December 20, 1999, review of Sunrise, p. 62; August 27, 2001, review of The Very Daring Duchess, p. 62.

ONLINE

Romance Reader Web site, http://www.theromancereader.com/ (September 16, 2003), Jean Mason, review of The Very Daring Duchess.

Romantic Times Web site, http://www.romantictimes.com/ (September 16, 2003), biography of Miranda Jarrett, and Kathe Robin, review of The Very Daring Duchess.