When Diane Gaston was a little girl, she'd learn all the words to popular love songs. When she played, her dolls acted out tragic love affairs with the current heartthrob on TV or in the movies. She thought everyone in the world made up romantic stories in their heads to fall asleep at night.

Even as a little girl, Diane loved the romances in the books she read, enjoying Nancy Drew's relationship with Ned more her mystery-solving. And she will never forgive Louisa May Alcott for not giving Jo a happy ending with Laurie. When Diane discovered romance novels in college, she was in heaven, especially if the romance was set in historic England.

Diane even majored in English literature in college, but the closest her coursework came to romance was a smattering of Jane Austen. In her first career, Diane helped others craft their own happy endings. She earned masters degrees in both psychology and social work and became a county mental health therapist. She also experienced her own romance, getting married and raising a daughter and son.

Diane's dream job, though, had always been to write romance novels. One day she decided to pursue that dream and has never looked back. She is now writing full-time. Her Harlequin Historical books have won Romance's highest honor - the RITA Award, the National Readers Choice Award and the Golden Heart.

Diane has reaped a world of friendships through her romance writing - a wonderful bonus to living her dream. Diane enjoys e-mailing with her friends and traveling to England for research. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three very ordinary house cats.