In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future. 'I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market.' Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. 'Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of,' Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. Her James River trilogy ( River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/ Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts.ĭeveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation. Her heroines are equally scrappy - medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Now, she is the author of 31 New York Times bestsellers.

Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, The Enchanted Land (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. For years, she worked as 5th-grade teacher. In 1967, Jude married and took her husband's surname of White, but four years later they divorced. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. She has a large extended family and is the elder sister of four brothers.

Jude Gilliam was born Septemin Fairdale, Kentucky.

The temptress by jude deveraux