Home
Vanessa Grant claims sales of more than ten million copies of her romances in 15 languages, qualifying her as one of B.C.'s bestselling novelists. She lives with her husband, an Irish setter and a cat named Zorro. They settled on one of the Gulf Islands after a two-year sailing trip to Mexico. She also works as a freelance editor.
CITY/TOWN: Nanaimo, BC
DATE OF BIRTH: December 7, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH: Guelph, Ontario
ARRIVAL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: 1955
EMPLOYMENT OTHER THAN WRITING: University-College instructor, accountant, assistant lighthouse keeper, counsellor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Writing Romance Second Edition, Self-Counsel Press, 2001
Think About Love, Zebra Books, 2001
Seeing Stars, Zebra Books, 2001
The Colors of Love, Zebra Books, 2000
If You Loved Me, Zebra Books, 1999
Yesterday's Vows, Harlequin, 1998
The Moon Lady's Lover, Harlequin, 1998
Dance of Seduction, Harlequin Mills and Boon, 1993
Strangers by Day, Harlequin Mills and Boon, 1993
After All This Time, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Nothing Less Than Love, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Catalina's Lover, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Hidden Memories, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
When Love Returns, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
With Strings Attached, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
Angela's Affair, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
The Touch of Love, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
One Secret Too Many, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
So Much for Dreams, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
Taking Chances, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Wild Passage, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Awakening Dreams, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Stranded Heart, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1988
Takeover Man, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1988
Stray Lady, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
Jenny's Turn, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
The Chauvinist, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
Shadows, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1986
Storm, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1985
Pacific Disturbance, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1985
AWARDS: Under the Covers Award for Best Writing Book, 2001
[Alan Twigg / BCBW 2003] "Romance" "Kidlit"
CITY/TOWN: Nanaimo, BC
DATE OF BIRTH: December 7, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH: Guelph, Ontario
ARRIVAL IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: 1955
EMPLOYMENT OTHER THAN WRITING: University-College instructor, accountant, assistant lighthouse keeper, counsellor.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Writing Romance Second Edition, Self-Counsel Press, 2001
Think About Love, Zebra Books, 2001
Seeing Stars, Zebra Books, 2001
The Colors of Love, Zebra Books, 2000
If You Loved Me, Zebra Books, 1999
Yesterday's Vows, Harlequin, 1998
The Moon Lady's Lover, Harlequin, 1998
Dance of Seduction, Harlequin Mills and Boon, 1993
Strangers by Day, Harlequin Mills and Boon, 1993
After All This Time, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Nothing Less Than Love, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Catalina's Lover, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
Hidden Memories, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1992
When Love Returns, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
With Strings Attached, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
Angela's Affair, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1991
The Touch of Love, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
One Secret Too Many, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
So Much for Dreams, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1990
Taking Chances, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Wild Passage, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Awakening Dreams, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1989
Stranded Heart, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1988
Takeover Man, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1988
Stray Lady, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
Jenny's Turn, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
The Chauvinist, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1987
Shadows, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1986
Storm, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1985
Pacific Disturbance, Harlequin Mills & Boon, 1985
AWARDS: Under the Covers Award for Best Writing Book, 2001
[Alan Twigg / BCBW 2003] "Romance" "Kidlit"
Articles: 1 Article for this author
Writing Romance (Self-Counsel $15.95)
Article
The Romance Writers of America Rita Award for best contemporary romance of 1996 has been won by Naomi Horton for Wild Blood. The Nanaimo writer's formulae for success includes a proviso that heroes and heroines must have a PMF -- a prime motivating force -- which affects their every move.
"For the sake of your story," Horton says, "this PMF will have stemmed from a single, dramatic event in the character's past, the prime motivating event (PME)."
PMF and PME are terms found in the new how-to guide, Writing Romance (Self-Counsel $15.95), by Vanessa Grant of Gabriola Island. Grant and Horton are friends who frequently consult one another about their work.
Vanessa Grant -- whose real name is Vanessa Oltmann -- wrote 50 pages of a love story when she was bedridden at age 12. She later completed three unpublished novels while living on a lighthouse station when her children were babies.
Her big break came in 1984 with the Harlequin publication of her first romance, Pacific Disturbance. She was approached to produce Writing Romance by editor Ruth Wilson after completing 25 Harlequin novels with more than nine million copies in print.
Another member of the Vancouver Island Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Jo Beverley of Victoria, has four Rita statuettes to her credit. The Chapter will be hosting a Romance writing conference at the Empress Hotel in March, 1988.
1-55180-096-9
[BCBW 1997]
