Forum: Shirley Jump

New York Times bestselling author Shirley Jump didn't have the willpower to diet nor the talent to master under-eye concealer, so she bowed out of a career in television and opted instead for a career where she could be paid to eat at her desk--writing. She started out in journalism, selling her first article at the age of eleven and dreaming of being the next Jane Pauley. Then she got married. And had two kids. Humor became the only thing that got her through the mashed potato flingfests and toilet paper decorating sprees. At first, seeking revenge on her children for their grocery store tantrums, she sold embarrassing essays about her children to anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul and Chocolate for Women II. However, it wasn't enough to feed her growing addiction to writing funny. So she turned to the world of romance novels, where messes are (usually) cleaned up before The End and no one is calling anyone a doodoo head. In the worlds Shirley gets to create and control, children listen to their parents, husbands always remember holidays and housework is magically done by elves. She sold her first book to Silhouette Romance in 2001. That novel, THE VIRGIN'S PROPOSAL, won the Booksellers' Best Award for Best Traditional Romance of 2003. RESCUED BY MR. RIGHT won the prestigious Holt Medallion in 2007, and "Twelve Days" won the More than Magic award for best Novella in 2007. She found a way to combine all her favorite things in her recipes with her own romantic comedy series from Zebra Books, which launched in September 2004 with THE BRIDE WORE CHOCOLATE.  The fifth in that series, PRETTY BAD, was released in February in 2007. Today, Shirley writes 8 books a year and will see her 18th, 19th and 20th books come out at the end of 2007. Though she's thrilled to see her books in stores around the world, Shirley mostly writes because it gives her an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets and helps feed her shoe habit. Join her on Coffee Time Romance for fun, discussions about reading, writing, shopping, food--anything that lets Shirley find an excuse to avoid cleaning the toilets. Read excerpts, see reviews or learn more about Shirley at: www.shirleyjump.com.