Jessica Bird
Jessica Rowley Pell Bird Blakemore | |
---|---|
Born | Jessica Rowley Pell Bird 1969 (age 55–56) Massachusetts, United States |
Pen name | Jessica Bird; J. R. Ward |
Occupation | novelist |
Language | English |
Nationality | U.S.American |
Alma mater | Smith College, Albany Law School |
Period | 2002–present |
Genre | romance, paranormal romance |
Notable works | Black Dagger Brotherhood series |
Notable awards | RITA award – Best Short Contemporary Romance 2007 From the First RITA award – Best Paranormal Romance 2008 Lover Revealed |
Spouse | John Neville Blakemore III (2001–present) |
Website | |
www |
Jessica Rowley Pell Bird (born April 1969 in Massachusetts, United States) is a #1 New York Times bestselling American novelist. Under her maiden name, Jessica Bird, she writes contemporary romance novels, and as J.R. Ward, she writes paranormal romance. She is a two-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, once as Bird for Best Short Contemporary Romance for From the First, and once as Ward for Best Paranormal Romance for Lover Revealed.
Contents
Biography
Born Jessica Rowley Pell Bird in 1969 in Massachusetts, United States, she is the daughter of W. Gillette Bird, Jr. and Maxine F. Bird.[1] She began writing as a child, penning her thoughts in diaries as well as inventing short stories. The summer before she went to college she wrote her first book, a romance novel.[2] After that, she wrote regularly, but for herself.[3] Bird attended Smith College[1] where she double majored in history and art history, concentrating on the medieval period.[3] She then received a law degree from Albany Law School[1] and worked in healthcare administration for several years,[3] including as the Chief of Staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.[1]
In 2001, Bird married John Neville Blakemore III.[1] Her new husband encouraged her to try to get an agent and market her manuscripts. She found an agent, and in 2002 her first novel, a contemporary romance called Leaping Hearts, was published.[3][4] Several years later, Bird invented a world populated by vampires and began writing single-title paranormal romance novels under the pen name J.R. Ward. These novels are a series, known as the Black Dagger Brotherhood.[4]
Bird likes to write series novels which incorporate characters from her previous books. She likens the process of creating a series to "meeting friends through other friends".[3] Her heroes are most often alpha males, "the tougher, the cockier, the more arrogant, the better", while the heroines are smart and strong.[3]
The Romance Writers of America awarded her the RITA Award for Best Short Contemporary Romance in 2007 for her novel From the First.[5] She has also been nominated six times for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, winning once for Lover Awakened. She was also number 2 on the New York Times Bestsellers List of 2014.[6]
Bibliography
As Jessica Bird
Single novels
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The Moorehouse Legacy Series
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The O'Banyon Brothers Series
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Omnibus
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Collections in collaboration
- "Plain Jane's Secret Life / Beauty and the Black Sheep" (2005) (with Cathy Gillen Thacker)
- "The Billionaire Next Door" in Mistress: Taken by the Tycoon (2009) (with Jan Colley and Kristi Gold)
As J. R. Ward
Black Dagger Brotherhood series
J r ward
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Black Dagger Legacy
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Novella
- "Father Mine: Zsadist and Bella's Story" 10/07/08 – ebook
- "The Story of Son" (in Dead After Dark anthology) 12/02/08
Supplement
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Omnibus
- Black Dagger Brotherhood, box set: Dark Lover, Lover Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Unbound, Lover Revealed, Lover Enshrined (2009)
Fallen Angels Series
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Bourbon Kings Series
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- The Angel's Share (July 26, 2016)
Collections in collaboration
- "The Story of Son" in Dead After Dark (2008) (with Sherrilyn Kenyon, Susan Squires, Dianna Love)
- "Dark Lover" in Blood Lust 6 (2010) (with MaryJanice Davidson, Christine Feehan)
- "Lover Awakened" in Blood Sample 7 (2010) (with MaryJanice Davidson, Laurell K Hamilton, Charlaine Harris, Katie MacAlister)
Awards and reception
- 2006 - RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance for Lover Awakened[7]
- 2006 - RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance for Lover Unbound[7]
- 2007 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Short Contemporary Romance for From the First[8]
- 2008 - P.E.A.R.L. (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) for Best Vampire Romance for Lover Enshrined
- 2008 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Paranormal Romance for Lover Revealed[9]
- 2009 - P.E.A.R.L. (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) for Best Overall Paranormal Romance AND Best Vampire Romance for Lover Avenged
- 2010 - Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Romance for Lover Mine[7]
- 2011 - Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Romance for Lover Unleashed[7]
- 2011 - RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance for Lover Unleashed[7]
- 2013 - Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Romance for Lover at Last[7]
References
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External links
- Jessica Bird Official site
- J. R. Ward's Official Site
- BookPage interview with JR Ward
- J. R. Ward at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 http://www.fictiondb.com/author/jr-ward~book-awards~39726.htm
- ↑ https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=535
- ↑ https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=535
- Pages with reference errors
- 1969 births
- 21st-century American novelists
- American fantasy writers
- American romantic fiction writers
- American women short story writers
- American women novelists
- Living people
- RITA Award winners
- Smith College alumni
- Albany Law School alumni
- Writers from Massachusetts
- Women science fiction and fantasy writers
- Women romantic fiction writers
- 21st-century women writers