Emilie Richards


Emilie Richards is an American author of over 50 contemporary romance and mystery novels.
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Early years

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.

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. The book was published in 1985 in the Silhouette Romance category line. 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.
As a result of years working as a family counselor, her novels "feature complex characterizations and in-depth explorations of social issues."
Richards won a Romance Writers of America RITA Award, the highest award given to romance authors, in 1994 for Dragonslayer. Richards has also been nominated three times for Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Awards and is a recipient of their Career Achievement Award.
Despite the occasional use of overly clichéd lines, Richards' writing "effortlessly flows from page to page." Her characters often sport unusual quirks, such as a penchant for strange sandwich ingredients, which gives the story an added charm.
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.
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 well-developed," although suspense is "minimal."

Personal life

Richards and her husband, Michael, have three biological sons and a daughter who was adopted from India. They have lived throughout the United States, including in Florida, Louisiana, California, Arkansas, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. As of 2007, they reside in Arlington, Virginia.
She was the first person to be named to the National Advisory Board of ABC Quilts, a non-profit association which teaches people to quilt.

Series

Ministry is Murder

Blessed is the Busybody Let There Be Suspects Beware False Profits A Lie for a Lie
  • ''A Truth for a Truth''

Shenandoah Album

Wedding Ring Endless Chain Lover's Knot Touching Stars
  • ''Sister's Choice''

MacDonalds Sisters

Sweet Georgia Gal Sweet Sea Spirit Sweet Mockingbird's Call Sweet Mountain Magic
  • ''Sweet Homecoming''

Men of Midnight

Duncan's Lady Iain Ross's Woman
  • ''MacDougall's Darling''

Maggie

Lady of the Night
  • ''Bayou Midnight''

Tales of the Pacific

From Glowing Embers Smoke Screen Rainbow Fire
  • ''Out of the Ashes''

Jensen

Runaway Way Back Home
  • ''Fugitive''

Whiskey Isl.

Whiskey Island
  • ''Parting Glass''

Gerritsen

Iron Lace
  • ''Rising Tides''

Alden

From a Distance
  • ''Somewhere Out There''

Shadows

Desert Shadows
  • ''Twilight Shadows''

Novels

Brendan's Song Gilding the Lily The Unmasking Angel and the Saint Something So Right Good Time Man Season of Miracles Outback Nights Aloha Always All the Right Reasons Classic Encounter Island Glory All Those Years Ago One Perfect Rose Dragonslayer The Trouble with Joe Once More With Feeling Woman Without a Name Mail-order Matty Twice upon a Time One Moment Past Midnight Beautiful Lies Fox River
  • ''Prospect Street''

Omnibus / Compilations

Christmas Classics Birds Bees and Babies Mistletoe and Holly / Sweet Sea Spirit Desperate Needs Outlaws and Lovers A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Delivery Room A Mother's Gift Southern Gentlemen A Mother's Day Maybe This Time To the One I Love More Than Words Mother's Love Nobody's Child / Older Woman / Royal MacAllister Love Undercover A Mother's Touch: Way Home / Stranger's Son / Paternity Test Lady of the Night / Island Glory
  • ''From This Day Forward''

Filmography

A series of German TV films
  • Sehnsucht nach Neuseeland
  • Das Paradies am Ende der Welt
  • Emilie Richards: Für immer Neuseeland
  • Emilie Richards: Zeit der Vergebung
  • Emilie Richards: Denk nur an uns beide
  • Emilie Richards: Sehnsucht nach Sandy Bay
  • Emilie Richards: Sehnsucht nach Paradise Island
  • Emilie Richards: Entscheidung des Herzens
  • Emilie Richards: Der Zauber von Neuseeland
  • ''Emilie Richards: Spuren der Vergangenheit''