Marilyn Brant has been told she writes with honesty, liveliness and wit (descriptors she's grown terribly fond of) about complex, intelligent women -- like her friends -- and their significant personal relationships. Although her favorite pursuits undoubtedly involve books, she proves she's not just a literary snob by confessing her lifelong fascination (read: obsession) with popular music, especially from the '70s & '80s, most flavors of ice cream and a variety of sensuous body lotions/oils.

Marilyn is the national bestselling and award-winning women's fiction author of ACCORDING TO JANE (2009), FRIDAY MORNINGS AT NINE (2010) and A SUMMER IN EUROPE (2011), all from Kensington Books. She's also a #1 Kindle bestseller and has written a series of fun and flirty contemporary romantic comedies, available exclusively as original ebooks. The first of these, ON ANY GIVEN SUNDAE, was released in June 2011 and hit both Barnes & Noble's and Amazon's Top 100 Lists. Her second digital story, DOUBLE DIPPING, was a September 2011 release and a 2012 International Digital Awards Finalist for "Best Contemporary Romance." Recent releases include HOLIDAY MAN (November 2012), which was a 2012 RONE Award Contestant, and an Austen-inspired romance, PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND THE PERFECT MATCH (January 2013), which has been a bestselling Kindle title in both "Humor" and "Single Women's Fiction."

As a former teacher, library staff member, freelance magazine writer and national book reviewer, Marilyn has spent much of her life lost in literature. She's been told -- and not always with the intent to flatter -- that she's "insatiably curious" and "a travel addict." She admits to combining these two passions by taking classes in foreign countries whenever possible and, consequently, she's been able to learn lots of fascinating things in Australia, in England, in Italy and in universities across the United States.

She received her M.A. in educational psychology from Loyola University Chicago, dabbled in both fiction and art at Northwestern University, studied the works of Austen at Oxford University and is an active member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Her debut novel featuring "Jane" won the Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart® Award. Her second novel was a Doubleday Book Club and Book-of-the-Month Club Featured Alternate Selection. And her third women's fiction book was featured by the Literary Guild and the BOMC2, as well as by the Rhapsody Book Club, where it was a Top 20 bestselling title in "Fiction & Literature." She was recently named the 2013 Illinois Author of the Year by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English.

Marilyn has traveled to 46 states and over 30 countries (so far -- she's not done yet!), but she now lives in the Chicago suburbs with her family. When she isn't rereading Jane's books or enjoying the latest releases by her writer friends, she's working on her next novel, eating chocolate indiscriminately and hiding from the laundry.

**For a selection of interviews and features with Marilyn,
please click HERE
& for articles for writers, check out this page HERE**

"Music is the favorite passion of my soul."
~Thomas Jefferson