Lady Jenny's Christmas Portrait (33 page)

Lady Jenny’s story brings us to the end of the Windham family series proper. I would have been content with stories for Westhaven, St. Just, and Valentine, but somebody in the Sourcebooks, Inc., marketing department got the notion I should write a Christmas story, and
Lady
Sophie’s Christmas Wish
appeared. Having written a tale for one Windham sister, sibling relations—and my editor’s suggestion—resulted in stories for the remaining sisters, of whom, some genius who shall remain nameless (whose initials rhyme with Grace Burrowes) had already decided there would be four.

I don’t know of any other author whose debut work has turned into an eight-book series, plus a few novellas. This represents prodigious commitment on the part of a publisher, and a Herculean effort on the part of my editor, Deb Werksman, marketing, public relations, art, production, and sales folks. If a book does well, the writing may have something to do with it, but most assuredly, the efforts of these people to brand the book, raise its visibility, and position it where readers can find it are indispensable.

So thanks, to Madam Editor and Madam Publisher, to marketing, to art, to sales, to public relations (this means you, Danielle), and to production (waving at Skye) for working your part of the magic that makes a manuscript into not just a book, but a book that finds its way into the hands of many happy readers.

And for those of you anticipating Windham-withdrawal, don’t worry. The Windhams have many friends, relations, and offspring. I have a few ideas…

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New
York
Times
and
USA
Today
bestselling author Grace Burrowes’s bestsellers include
The
Heir
,
The
Soldier
,
Lady
Maggie’s Secret Scandal
,
Lady
Sophie’s Christmas Wish
, and
Lady
Eve’s Indiscretion.
The
Heir
was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2010,
The
Soldier
was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Spring Romance of 2011,
Lady
Sophie’s Christmas Wish
won Best Historical Romance of the Year in 2011 from
RT
Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and
The
Bridegroom
Wore
Plaid
, the first in her trilogy of Scotland-set Victorian romances, was a
Publishers
Weekly
Best Book of 2012. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from
Publishers
Weekly
and
Booklist
.

Grace is a practicing family law attorney and lives in rural Maryland. She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached through her website at
graceburrowes.com
.