About RWA: Board of Directors

Linda Winstead Jones, President

A member of RWA since 1993, first published in 1994, Linda Winstead Jones is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than 60 romance novels and novellas. A five-time RITA® finalist, she won the RITA for paranormal romance in 2004. She’s served as president and vice-president of her local chapter, as well as four years on the Board as Region 3 Director. Linda lives in North Alabama with her husband of 38 years.

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Sylvia Day, President-Elect

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

Sylvia Day is the national best-selling, award-winning author of more than a dozen novels written across multiple subgenres under multiple pen names: three! In addition, she has written numerous novellas and short stories for both print and electronic-original release.  Her work has been honored with the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice award, the EPPIE award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and multiple nominations for RWA’s RITA® Award of Excellence.
 
Sylvia co-founded Passionate Ink, RWA’s first and only erotic romance special interest chapter, in 2005 and served as its inaugural president.  She is a member of OCC RWA, San Diego RWA, RWA Online, Kiss of Death, YA RWA, Passionate Ink, and PASIC.

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Lorraine Heath, Secretary

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

A RITA-winning, best-selling author of more than 35 published romantic fiction novels (her current publishers are Avon Books and HarperTeen), Lorraine Heath has been a member of RWA since 1993 and a member of the Board—serving as Region 5 Director—for two. As a member of the Board, she served on task forces to study the restructuring of committees, the role of standing committees, and industry changes. She served one year as PAN Chair and two years as liaison to the Strategic Advisory Committee. She has also served two years on the board of Novelists Inc. and seven years at the RWA Chapter level, two years as chapter president.

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Diane Kelly, Treasurer

Diane Kelly is a tax attorney and CPA, with two decades experience in taxation and business. Diane graduated with honors from the University of Texas accounting program and attended the University of Texas School of Law. Diane has worked for the international accounting firm KPMG, as well as serving a stint in the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Diane currently works part-time at a law firm as a tax advisor. Diane’s manuscript “Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure” won the 2009 Golden Heart® in the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category and will be released as her debut novel in September 2011 from St. Martin's Press.

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Leslie Kelly, Region One Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

Leslie Kelly has been a member of RWA since 1997, and made her first sale in 1998. One of the founding members of FL-STAR, she has served as chapter president, newsletter editor, conference chair and PAN liaison.

Leslie is the author of 40 published novels and novellas. Her books have received numerous honors, including the National Reader’s Choice Award, Golden Quill, Aspen Gold, Award of Excellence, and three RITA® nominations. In 2010 she was awarded the Romantic Times Lifetime Achievement Award for Series romance. She currently writes contemporary romances for Harlequin, and romantic thrillers for NAL under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.

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Jeanne Pickering Adams, Region One Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

The daughter of a librarian and an English teacher, Jeanne Adams loves books and writers. An RWA member since 2001, she’s given back through board or committee service in chapters like The Golden Network, the Kiss of Death Chapter, and Washington (DC) Romance Writers. In 2008-09, Jeanne was invited to chair the RWA Strategic Advisory Committee, and charged with determining the viability of RWA-sponsored anthologies. A former corporate marketing executive and consultant, Jeanne brings extensive business experience and the mindset of a widely involved, working writer to the board table.

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Lori Handeland, Region Two Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

Lori Handeland has sold 50 novels, novellas and short stories for Dorchester, Kensington, Harlequin, St. Martin’s Press, HarperCollins and Simon and Schuster.
 
She is a New York Times, USA Today, Waldenbooks and Bookscan best-selling author and the recipient of many industry awards, including two RITA® Awards.

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Tracy Garrett, Region Two Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

Tracy Garrett joined Romance Writers of America in 2000 and signed a contract with Kensington-Zebra Historical in 2006. She is a member in good standing of Dallas Area Romance Authors (DARA), where she has held several board positions, Missouri Romance Writers of America (MORWA), and Published Authors Special Interest Chapter (PASIC).

An accomplished musician who continues to perform and teach, Tracy is a resident of Missouri where she is active in local writers groups. Tracy looks forward to bringing her years of experience from the corporate world to help RWA meet the challenges being created by our rapidly changing industry.
 

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Tanya Michna, Region Three Director

Tanya Michna, also known as Tanya Michaels, is the award-winning author of nearly 30 romance and women’s fiction novels for Harlequin and NAL. She’s a three-time RITA® finalist and a 2009 RT Book Reviews nominee for Career Achievement in Series Romance. A recipient of the chapter service award, Tanya has held numerous positions at both the chapter and national level, including vice-president of Georgia Romance Writers and 2007 RWA Workshop Chair. She lives outside Atlanta with her husband and two children.

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Rhonda Nelson, Region Three Director

A Waldenbooks best-selling author, two-time RITA® nominee, Romantic Times Reviewers Choice nominee, and National Readers' Choice Award Winner, Rhonda Nelson writes for Harlequin Blaze and other Harlequin imprints. A 15-year member of RWA, Rhonda is a passionate supporter of the organization, of the romance genre, and knows that navigating the potholes on her road to publication was made infinitely smoother by the information and camaraderie shared so selflessly by her sister writers within RWA. With 35 published novels to her credit, Rhonda is a seasoned author who looks forward to the opportunity to serve RWA at a national level.

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Barbara Dunlop, Region Four Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

USA Today best-selling author Barbara Dunlop sold her first book to Harlequin in 2000. She has since written 27 novels for Harlequin and Silhouette. Barbara is a two time RITA® Award finalist and a two time winner of the Golden Heart®. Having joined RWA in 1998, she is a long-term member of both the Dallas and Calgary RWA chapters. Barbara has a professional background in policy analysis and strategic planning, and currently balances her writing career with a day job as the Yukon Film Commissioner.

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Janelle Denison, Region Four Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

Janelle Denison has been a member of RWA since 1990. She has served RWA on a chapter level as president, treasurer, and contest coordinator. A USA Today best-selling author, Janelle has published over 50 novels with traditional print publishers (Harlequin, Berkley, NAL, Kensington, and St. Martin’s Press), and is also self-published in e-book format. She is a RITA® finalist, a two time winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award, and a recipient of Romantic Times lifetime achievement award.

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Vicki Lewis Thompson, Region Five Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

New York Times best-selling author Vicki Lewis Thompson has published more than 100 romances for Harlequin, Dell, St. Martin’s Press, and New American Library. She’s an eight-time RITA nominee and received the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. A member of RWA since 1982 and a published author since 1983, she served on the local level as chapter president and on the national level as a member of the PAN Steering Committee. She also served three years on the board of Novelists, Inc., holding the positions of newsletter editor, president-elect, and president

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Julia London, Region Five Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

Julia London is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly best-selling author of more than two dozen novels and several novellas, including historical romance, contemporary romance, and women's fiction with strong romantic elements. She had never heard of RWA before selling her first book in 1998, and was introduced to the organization as a published author. She has been a member since 1999 and has served as the AWRA (Austin) chapter's PAN liaison.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a four-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her family and dog.

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Karin Tabke, Region Six Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2012

Karin Tabke (aka Karin Harlow) is not just a national best-selling and award-winning author, she is an active member of RWA. She has served on two chapter boards: two years as president of the San Francisco Area chapter; as a charter member of the Black Diamonds Chapter, she served as treasurer and vice president as well as PAN liaison. Karin's most exciting RWA recognition came in 2008 when she was awarded RWA's PRO Mentor of the Year Award.

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Terry McLaughlin, Region Six Director

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

Award-winning Harlequin author Terry McLaughlin has enjoyed the benefits of membership in RWA for over 10 years and has appreciated the opportunity to serve at the national level as a Region Six Director. She is a member of several online and West Coast chapters, where she volunteered as Web mistress, contest coordinator, vice-president, and president.

A Golden Heart and RITA finalist, Terry holds an MA in English. During her years as a teacher and school administrator, she taught a wide variety of subjects in classes ranging from kindergarten to adult ed, including writing courses at the university level.

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Cindy Kirk, PAN Liaison

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

Cynthia Rutledge/Cindy Kirk joined RWA in 1996. Her first sale came in 1999 to Steeple Hill. After selling 14 books to Love Inspired and Silhouette Romance, in 2005 Cindy began writing for Avon and Silhouette Special Edition under her Cindy Kirk pseudonym. This year, three new Special Editions by Cindy Kirk will hit the shelves.

She is a co-founder and former president of Nebraska Romance Writers, two-term President of Romance Authors of the Heartland. She maintains membership in chapters all across the country including Heartland Writers Group, Prairieland Romance Writers, Maine Romance Writers, GSRWA, PASIC, FHL and KOD. 

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Maggi Landry, PRO Liaison

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

A 16-year member of Romance Writers of America, Maggi Landry helped found The Heart of Denver Romance Writers where she was a four-time president. She has coordinated The Molly contest for unpublished writers several times. She also belongs to The Kiss of Death chapter and has earned RWA PRO member status. Maggi has also frequently volunteered at the RWA national conference. A former bookstore owner and registered locksmith/security technician, Maggi has worked in business for 30 years and been a field manager for over seven years.

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Nikki Enlow, Chapter Liaison

Term expiration: 10/31/2013

A 2011 recipient of the prestigious RWA Service Award, Nikki Enlow has been an RWA member since 2004. She has served on both the chapter and national levels, including terms as president of two RWA chapters and as a member of the PRO-Steering and PRO-Communications Committees.

Having served as president of both an online and a land-based chapter, Nikki is familiar with the unique challenges that chapters face.

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