Kelly, Carla: - A well-known veteran of the romance writing field, Carla Kelly has authored forty-five novels and three non-fiction works, as well as numerous short stories and articles for various publications. She is the recipient of two RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America for Best Regency of the Year; two Spur Awards from Western Writers of America; three Whitney Awards, 2011, 2012, and 2014; and a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times. Carla's interest in historical fiction is a byproduct of her lifelong study of history. She's held a variety of jobs, including medical public relations work, feature writer and columnist for a North Dakota daily newspaper, and ranger in the National Park Service at Fort Laramie National Historic Site and Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. She worked for the North Dakota Historical Society as a contract researcher. Interest in the Napoleonic Wars led to numerous novels about the Royal Navy Channel Fleet during that conflict. Carla has also written novels set in Wyoming during the Indian wars, and in the early twentieth century that focus on her interest in ranching. Why WWII? Both of Carla's parents served in the U.S. Navy during the war, her father in the South Pacific. Carla's mother, a Navy WAVE, became the Navy's first female bombardier.