Of Greek origin, I grew up in Alexandria, Egypt. The balcony of my childhood bedroom overlooked the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. I spent hours curled on the floor of this balcony, reading or staring at the sea, and imagining wonderful stories where I played heroine to a gorgeous hero. Moving to the U.S. at the age of twenty, I was lucky enough to marry the hero of my dreams and live happily ever after with a lovely daughter and incredibly active son.

As a Ph.D. in Chemistry and director of an environmental analytical laboratory, I traveled a lot, organized laboratory refurbishments, visited environmental sites, and attended conferences in various places. Over the years, I visited thirty-five countries, fell in love with Europe, and kept writing my memoirs, taking careful notes of the local customs and different cultures. I was in a hotel room in Ukraine, typing my latest adventure on my laptop, when I decided it was time to take an early retirement. After a successful career as a chemist, I would stop writing memoirs and start writing romance novels. I wanted to share the excitement of my travels with real readers.

Once I discovered RWA, my local chapters of FRW and OVRWA, and the on-line chapters of FTHRWA and Heartbeat, I met generous mentors and struggling critique partners, and studied the trade of writing with the same tenacity I used in preparing my Ph.D. Five books and more than a dozen awards in contests convinced me I was on the right track.

TO LOVE A HERO was my first-born, the book of my heart. I revised it over and over for four years. It reflects the warmth and hospitality of the local people and the dashing officers with whom I dealt in Belarus.