Annette Broadrick

Annette Broadrick was born on 26 November 1940. Her mother read to her until she read to herself. From that time on, books became her closest companions and teachers. She was an only child until the middle of her 16th year when her sister Derralee was born. She married immediately after high school graduation in the middle of her 18th year. Twelve months later she had her first son. She ended up having four sons in seven years. People with children do not need to explain what their life was like for the next 20 years. Those people without children do not want to hear about it.

Early on, Annette became a secretary to supplement the family income. Eventually she became a legal secretary and for 25 years she worked for attorneys in Arizona, Texas, Illinois, and Oregon. Her love of books followed her throughout her career as a mother and a secretary. By the time her youngest son graduated from high school she decided to write a book of her own.

After writing in a spiral notebook for six months, she rented a typewriter and rewrote the book, showed it to a creative writing teacher, who was also a friend, listened to her critique and rewrote her story. Next she showed it to another avid romance reader and carefully listened to her critique. She rewrote her story once again. Next she mailed the manuscript to the Silhouette office in New York. Two months later she received a phone call asking if she’d be willing to do extensive revisions, including cutting one hundred pages.