Medeiros, Teresa 1962-

views updated

Medeiros, Teresa 1962-

PERSONAL:

Born October 26, 1962, in Heidelberg, Germany; U.S. citizen; daughter of Drayton (an army officer and postmaster) and Linda (a homemaker) Hatcher; married Michael Medeiros (a registered nurse), May 18, 1984. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Madisonville Community College, A.A. Politics: Republican. Religion: Church of Christ. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, hiking, professional and personal correspondence, Star Trek, blogging, biking.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—Hopkinsville, KY. Agent—Andrea Cirillo, Jane Rotrosen Agency, 318 E. 51st St., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Full-time writer, 1992—. Worked as a registered nurse for nine years, including seven years as a charge nurse at Western State Psychiatric Hospital, Hopkinsville, KY.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America, Novelists Inc., Kentucky Romance Writers.

WRITINGS:

ROMANCE NOVELS

Lady of Conquest, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1989.

Shadows and Lace, Berkley Publishing (New York, NY), 1990.

Heather and Velvet, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1991.

Once an Angel, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1993.

A Whisper of Roses, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Thief of Hearts, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1994.

Fairest of Them All, Five Star (Unity, ME), 1995.

Breath of Magic, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1996.

Touch of Enchantment (sequel to Breath of Magic), Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1997.

Nobody's Darling, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Charming the Prince, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 1999.

The Bride and the Beast, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Kiss to Remember, Bantam Books (New York, NY), 2001.

One Night of Scandal, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2003.

Yours until Dawn, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2004.

After Midnight, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2005.

The Vampire Who Loved Me, Avon Books (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Romance writer Teresa Medeiros is known for historical novels set in various periods. Her first novel, Lady of Conquest, is set in Ireland in the year 123 A.D. Asked by Ellen Micheletti of the Web site Laurie Likes Books whether she favors a particular time, Medeiros said: "I skip around time periods because I have a very short attention span. Once I've described a medieval great hall in one book, I'd rather describe a Regency drawing room in the next. I also let the story dictate the setting and time period rather than letting the time period dictate the story. I usually come up with the story first, then decide which time period and setting would make the most effective ‘frame’ for it."

In Fairest of Them All, set in England in 1325, beautiful Holly de Chastel conceals her good looks to ward off potential suitors, one of which her father hopes will win her heart. Sir Austyn of Ravenmore of Wales is looking for a wife, but she must be homely. A curse on his family requires that he marry an ugly woman. When Holly's father invites eligible bachelors to joust for his daughter's hand and a considerable dowry, most of the young men decline. But Austyn enters, both because Holly physically fits his needs and because he wants the money to build up his crumbling castle. Austyn wins and takes Holly to Wales. When he discovers her beauty under her disguise, he is angered and expects the curse to be fulfilled. But love prevails, and the promise of the curse never comes to pass.

Breath of Magic transcends two periods, seventeenth-century Massachusetts and present-day Manhattan. Arian Whitewood, a witch, escapes from the past where the Puritans are trying to kill her, and appears at a Manhattan party. Host Tristan Lennox is holding a magic contest to try to locate his former partner who disappeared with a magic software program. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called Breath of Magic "a fairy tale wherein Prince Charming carries condoms." In Touch of Enchantment, the sequel to Breath of Magic, Tabitha (named for the character in the Bewitched television series) Lennox is the daughter of Arian and Tristan and, like her mother, she has magical powers. The young witch and "computer geek" who lives in modern times is projected seven centuries into the past by an empowered family amulet. She arrives in Scotland wearing pajamas and chipmunk slippers and sporting short hair, making her a strange sight for Sir Colin of Ravenshaw, a handsome knight in shining armor. Library Journal reviewer Kristin Ramsdell called Touch of Enchantment "a delightfully magical story with a definite fairy-tale quality."

Music teacher Esmerelda Fine sells her school in Boston to track down the man who she believes killed her younger brother in Nobody's Darling. Esmerelda finds handsome outlaw Billy Darling living in a whorehouse in New Mexico. She tries to kill him, but faints just as she pulls the trigger. When she comes to, in jail, Billy is there, ready to help find the real murderer. They discover that Esmerelda's brother is not dead, but has taken on the persona of the infamous "Black Bart." A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote that "Medeiros's outstanding sense of humor, sexual tension, and steamy passion save a silly plot."

Sir Banner the Bold is the fearless warrior who fights the French for fourteen years in Charming the Prince, but who is powerless to control his twelve motherless children at home. He sends a servant to find him a woman who is the opposite of his children, hoping they can be turned around. He also asks that her looks be such that he will not be tempted by her, because he does not want more children. Instead, he finds himself married to the beautiful Lady Willow Mallory.

In The Bride and the Beast, the villagers of Weyrcraig, in Scotland, are unable to meet the demands for gold, whiskey, and venison being made by a dragon that has taken over the castle. Instead, they decide to offer the only virgin in the village, plump and sharp-tongued Gwendolyn, who does not believe in dragons. Gwendolyn finds a man inside the dragon, Bernard MacCullough, who is trying to find out who betrayed his father, the slain chieftain of Clan MacCullough. He falls in love with Gwendolyn, who he keeps in a tower; he brings her food, books, and beautiful clothes, and showers her with kisses. Booklist reviewer Diana Tixier Herald said Medeiros "elicits both laughter and tears in this sensuous tale of revenge and compassion." Suzanne Coleburn of the Web site Romance Fiction commented that The Bride and the Beast "is filled with strong characters that will dazzle you and make you believe in fairytales all over again."

Medeiros once told CA: "As an only child and army brat, I often attributed my rioting imagination to the need to entertain myself. I am a passionate reader, and the seeds for my future vocation were sown when I started to think in prose while standing in the elementary school lunch line. My musings were punctuated with snips of imagined dialogue, and I was ever so delighted in 1986 to discover that there were publishers willing to pay me for the pleasure of meeting my imaginary friends and introducing them to millions of readers.

"A true romantic at heart, I am delighted to be part of the genre of popular and romantic fiction authors that has its roots in the novels of Charlotte and Emily Brontë, the serialized fiction of Charles Dickens, and the plays of William Shakespeare and Euripides. The ever-expanding boundaries of historical romance allow me to express my own heartfelt beliefs in optimism, truth, faith, honor, chivalry, and the timeless power of love to provoke a happy ending. In a society gutted by cynicism, I believe romance writers are the true ‘feminists.’ We are women writing both about women and for women. We reinforce the belief that one man and one woman can form a monogamous relationship and create a family unit (with or without children), which has been the basic tenet of survival in societies both historical and modern."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, March 1, 1993, Alice Joyce, review of Once an Angel, p. 1157; June 1, 2000, Diana Tixier Herald, review of The Bride and the Beast, p. 1860.

Library Journal, May 15, 1997, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Touch of Enchantment, p. 69; February 15, 1998, Kristin Ramsdell, review of Nobody's Darling, p. 129; March 1, 2000, review of The Bride and the Beast, p. S5.

Publishers Weekly, June 23, 1989, Penny Kaganoff, review of Lady of Conquest, p. 53; March 1, 1993, review of Once an Angel, p. 53; August 29, 1994, review of Thief of Hearts, p. 70; April 17, 1995, review of Fairest of Them All, p. 52; January 22, 1996, review of Breath of Magic, p. 65; April 21, 1997, review of Touch of Enchantment, p. 68; February 16, 1998, review of Nobody's Darling, p. 207.

School Library Journal, March, 1996, review of The Fairest of Them All, p. 233.