Jennifer Blake is the pseudonym of Patricia Maxwell, a bestselling historical, contemporary and romance author that is deemed one of the pioneers of the romance genre. For her enduring career, she has been called the “steel magnolia” of women’s fiction. The icon and pioneer of romance fiction has been an international and New York Times bestselling author since the mid-1970s. Blake is a charter member of the Romance Writers of America, has received the RITA Lifetime Achievement Award, and is a member of the RWA Hall of Fame. She has also been the recipient of several other honors such as a Holt Medallion, two Maggies, a Career Achievement Award from the Romantic Times and several Reviewer’s Choice Awards. She has more than 75 works that have been translated into more than 20 languages and sold more than 35 million copies.
Jennifer Blake was born Patricia Ponder in 1942 Goldonna, Louisiana. She is a seventh Generation American with American Indian, English, French, Irish, Scots-German and Welsh ancestry. She was born and raised on a century-old house that had been the legacy of her grandparents in Northern Louisiana. She was introduced to storytelling and books at a very early age since her mother was an active member of a mail-order book club. As such, she was exposed to all manner of mysteries, romances, historical novels and westerns from which she developed a taste for good storytelling. As a teen, she spent a lot of time volunteering at the library, which further reinforced her love for books. She would get married aged fifteen and took up the name Patricia Maxwell. She got bored and decide to become a published author when she was 21. With the support of her husband, she found a correspondence course and six weeks later she started writing.
Blake’s breakout moment was the publishing of “Love’s Wild Desire” a historical romance in 1977. While she had begun her career writing Gothic mystery suspense novels, the genre went into decline in the 1970s. She had written some popular Gothic novels that combined romance and sexual tension but had to do something different to stay relevant. She ventured into historical romance with the writing of Love’s wild desire. While the novel had been rejected by one editor that asked that she change it into a historical, it went on to become a bestselling title on the New York Times after she sold it to another publisher. Once she had published her first historical romance as Jennifer Blake, she became prolific and has now been churning them out for more than three decades. She does not restrict herself to one romance genre as she writes both historical and contemporary romance novels. Most of her romance novels are set in 1830-1850 Louisiana where she grew up. After 30 years in traditional publishing she decided to go it alone and set up Steel Magnolia Press in 2011. Most of her new work is now published by her independent publishing company. She currently lives in a Caribbean style lakeside retreat in North Louisiana. When she is not writing she loves to quilt, travel, paint, walk her dogs and tend to her roses and lilies.
“Luke” is Jennifer Blake’s first novel in the Louisiana Gentleman series of novels that tells the story of April Halstead. Halstead is an author who has a chronic case of writer’s block and threats from some unknown persons that want her to stop her project. Luke Benedict is a member of the family on which her next book is about. He is determined to protect her from anyone and takes her away to Louisiana Bayou on his pontoon boat. Luke knows he can keep her protected until the danger is over since no one knows these waters as well he does. While some would see his caveman propensities as dated as April does, he is a lovable fellow with his sexy and chivalrous ways. While she had at first resisted going away with him, the more time she spends with him the more she thinks she is falling for him. Blake tells an intriguing story set in the vibrant and rich south as she paints a sultry picture that no doubt comes from first-hand experience. While Luke and April are stubborn, there is tangible chemistry that makes them so beautiful together.
“Roan” the second novel of the Louisiana Gentleman series is one of Jennifer’s Blake’s masterpieces. The lead is Roan Benedict a man who rules the roost in a small town until the arrival of Donna, a mysterious woman who shakes things up. Roan is shot in a reflex act and decides to detain the suspect at his home. While this is highly unorthodox, he soon finds out that what he did was the right thing. He can keep the suspect safe while using the time to collect the information that he needs. Meanwhile, the suspect has managed to convince him that she is suffering from amnesia. he can thus keep secret the fact that she was responsible for the kidnapping and near-death of her ex-fiancé. Even as she maintains that she is not a criminal he cannot find it in himself to trust her. Roan is a complex and taciturn character though he is good houseman and father. He takes care of his responsibilities and is generally a stand-up man though he feels very alone. While he lives for his teenage son Jake, he has human needs though he tries his best to keep them hidden.
Jennifer Blake’s “Clay” tests the limits that a mother will go to protect her child and the lengths a man will go to for the women he loves. The lead is Janna Kerr, a woman who has a chronically ill daughter and whose only hope is an unscrupulous doctor asking for a ridiculous amount of money. She lives in the Louisiana Bayou where together with her child Laney, they are waiting for a summons from the doctor. But then Kerr is pushed to the edge when Clay Benedict comes into the picture. Clay is the son of her landlord and was checking out the huge expanse of land. He never expected that the beautiful woman he stumbled upon would hold him captive and drug him. But her secret comes to light immediately he looks into the eyes of her daughter – those are his very own eyes. Janna cannot have him pulling her heart in all kinds of directions which he had done once upon a time. Not when she has to save her only daughter from certain death. In the meantime, Clay gets to understand just how much risk she is willing to take to save her daughter. But he is also determined to get what he wants otherwise he would not be a Louisianan.
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