From the time I picked up my first romance novel back in high school (a very long time ago, LOL), I have known what I wanted to do: write romance novels. There simply wasn’t any other idea in my head, even as I explored various career paths. Those career paths were frequently dictated by whatever book I was reading: a paralegal (thanks to a romance by Kristen James), a coroner (because of the Kay Scarpetty books by Patricia Cornwell), an anthropologist (after reading one of Nora Roberts’s early Silhouettes). It took me far longer than it probably should have to realize that, as a writer, I could be any and all of those things for as long as it took me to write a book. And so…
Here I am. A good number of years later, with more than sixty books under my writing
belt. The majority of those are with Harlequin (my dream from that first day), but most
recently, I was given the opportunity to, in the words of my former editor, “write whatever
I wanted.” I cannot tell you the freedom and excitement hearing (or rather reading)
those words evoked. No restrictions, no guidelines, just write what your heart and soul
wants. Thus, the Circle of the Red Lily series was born.
I’m a lifelong obsessive with all things movies and Hollywood. I grew up on Saturday
morning Shirley Temple, Abbot & Costello, and Bogart movies. My all-time favorite movie (okay, I have a lot) is The Adventures of Robin Hood staring Errol Flynn (closely followed by Singin’ in the Rain). There’s something magical about those old classics, a time gone by even as they created and built the art form we enjoy today. Everything about that time, the studio system, the movie stars and glamour, the bright spinning lights of premiere night, is utterly fascinating to me. So I knew, when I was asked to write something that matters to me, Hollywood would have to play a part.
The initial idea was simple. What would happen if a photographer came across lost film,
developed it, and discovered that they were photographs that would call into question a
notorious murder case and conviction.
Riley Temple became that photographer, a paparazzo with a heart and a woman with
little faith in the justice system. Her roots run deep in Hollywood thanks to her late grandfather, a studio portrait photographer in the Golden Age of Hollywood and her Great Aunt Moxie, a character inspired by the one and only Shirley Temple (if Shirley had a bit of a spicy edge to her). Together they own Temple House, an apartment
building in the heart of Los Angeles that once served as housing for the stable of actresses, dancers and performers going back as far as the 1930s. When those pictures Riley discovered suddenly put her and her circle of friends in danger, she finds herself coming face to face with the absolute worst hero possible: a cop. Don’t you love it when they’re both utterly wrong—and right—for one another? Together they discover that the photographs unlock the truth of a secret society that has been hovering in the shadows of Hollywood for decades. A society that will do anything to remain hidden. Including kill.
Framed, Vanished, and Unearthed are the first three books in my five-book Circle of the Red
Lily series. I LOVE writing books featuring a close-knit community and Riley’s four friends, all of whom live in Temple House, are along for the ride of their lives with each of them getting their own happily ever after (after some dangerous shenanigans). And how do we know they’ll get their HEAs? Because I write romance! How they get there, however? Now that’s going to be the biggest mystery of them all.
I am so thrilled that this series has a home with Tule now and I’m even more excited to
be celebrating these first releases with them. How appropriate that these are the books
that finally helped me find my voice.
Welcome to the Circle of the Red Lily. I hope you all will enjoy my ode to Old Hollywood,
a time gone by, and that all important happily ever after.
About the Author
Anna J. Stewart is a National and USA Today bestselling author of more than sixty emotionally layered romances, ranging from sweet to suspenseful.
A Maggie and Holt Medallion winner, Anna’s work has also been recognized as a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards and one of her novels, Recipe for Redemption, was optioned for a TV movie.
At the heart of every story Anna tells is family—the kind you’re born into, and the kind you fight for. Her characters wrestle with real struggles, deep wounds, and the kind of love that changes everything.
When she’s not writing or working with editing and book coaching clients, Anna can be found in her kitchen chasing comfort through baking, or deep in a TV binge that often includes The Great British Bake-Off, Supernatural, and anything Starfleet-approved. She shares her space—and negotiates for desk rights—with two cats, Rosie and Sherlock, who are equal parts muse and menace.
