Lauren Royal is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling historical romance author.
In third grade, she decided that she wanted to become a writer after winning a "Why My Mother is the Greatest" essay contest and seeing her entry published in a major regional newspaper.
After being told that it was too difficult for a novelist to get published, Royal opened a jewelry store, which she soon moved to a local mall.
In between watching her children and taking care of the house, she was able to finish her first book, "Amethyst" (in which the heroine was a jeweler—as Royal says, "write what you know!").
"Amethyst" was followed by "Emerald," "Amber," "Forevermore" (her contribution to the anthology published as "In Praise of Younger Men"), "Violet," "Lily," and "Rose," all of which are set in the Restoration era.