Julie Anne Long

San Francisco Bay Area native Julie Anne Long originally set out to be a rock star when she grew up (and she has the guitars and fringed clothing stuffed in the back of her closet to prove it), but writing was always her first love. She began her academic career as a Journalism major, until she realized Creative Writing was a better fit for her freewheeling imagination and overdeveloped sense of whimsy.

And when playing guitar in dank, sticky clubs finally lost its "charm," Julie realized she could incorporate all the best things about being in a band-namely drama, passion and men with unruly hair-into novels, while also indulging her love of history and research.

Since then, her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Rita, Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice, the Holt Medallion, Bookseller's Best, and The Quills, and reviewers have been known to use words like "dazzling," "brilliant," and "impossible to put down" when describing them.