An Affair of Vengeance (31 page)

I’m grateful to Ms. Susan Bohrer for not allowing me to cruise through her writing course and for mentoring me after I survived it. Anna Katherine, who let me use one of her children’s names for a character in this book, gets my sincere appreciation in exchange. My warmest thanks go out to my beta reader
Margaret Rose-Innes, whose tireless enthusiasm helped me to believe in myself during those early years. My parents deserve unending praise, for if I hadn’t grown up watching them put in the effort it takes to maintain a loving marriage, I wouldn’t have understood how to craft and sustain my own happily-ever-after, let alone write about them.

And finally, I thank my husband, without whom I would crumble to dust.

Photograph by Kate Bailey, 2012

B
ORN AND RAISED
in Southern California, Jamie Michele spent the majority of her childhood immersed in books, dance classes, and community theater. After she studied biology at Scripps College, her love of animals led her to the roles of veterinary technician and zookeeper. While working as an “edzoocator” for the Maryland Zoo’s mobile education unit in 2007, she shifted her focus to writing. The result was
Romance or Retribution
(now published as
An Affair of Vengeance
), which went on to win a prestigious 2009 Golden Heart Award from the Romance Writers of America. Michele now writes full time. She, her husband, and their child act as a foster family for the local SPCA.