Misty Urban wrote her first story at age 5 for the benefit of her younger sister. It was, sources say, a rather conventional piece involving cats, mats, and possibly bats (the work is no longer extant). Her next venture, a journalism/reportage effort entitled “The Urban Star,” peaked at a circulation of 3. She wrote her first novel at age 16. It remains unpublished.
Her subsequent career paths have included stints as a bookseller in Madison, WI; an MA student at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL; a combined MFA/Ph.D. student at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY; and four years as an assistant professor at Lewis Clark State College in Lewiston, ID. She has most recently come to rest in eastern Iowa, where she reads and writes in the company of one handsome park ranger, two young aspiring writers, and a rather heavy collection of books.
Awards
Outstanding Literary Arts Educator from the Midwest Writing Center
David R. Collins Literary Achievement Award
Great River Writer’s Retreat
Serena McDonald Kennedy Fiction Award
Alexander Cappon Award for Fiction
New Letters Award for Fiction
2 nominations for a Pushcart Prize
2 Best of the Net nominations
First prize, student fiction from The Atlantic Monthly
Fiction prize Writers @ Work
Viscount Overboard (Ladies Least Likely Book 1)
When the war-scarred Viscount Penrydd washes up in 1799 Newport minus his memory, Gwenllian ap Ewyas decides not to tell him he owns, and threatened to sell, the property she’s made a refuge for her and other lost souls.
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The Forger and the Duke (Ladies Least Likely Book 2)
A young copyist finds herself in dangerous territory when she crosses path with a would-be barrister and the illegitimate son of a duke...
Malden Grey has learned to live by his wits, and Amaranthe fears his sharp eye will detect that she doesn’t always earn her living by honest means. But when Mal’s young half-siblings turn to Amaranthe for domestic advice, she becomes deeply implicated in life at Hunsdon House, and against her better judgment, Malden Grey steals her heart—even while she’s plotting to steal the Hunsdon MS, an irreplaceable book that can make her fortune.
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The Painter Takes an Earl (Ladies Least Likely Book 3)
Eleven years ago, ragtag near-orphan Harriette Smythe made a lifelong friend when she defended the young Earl of Renwick from the village boys persecuting him for his stammer and clubfoot. When Ren returns to London with all the polish of his Grand Tour and the need to take up his duties, he finds a woman in crimson silk shimmying through his window: Harriette, all grown up into a delectable woman, who offers him a startling proposal.
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A Corpse in the Castle (A Polly Pepper Mystery Book 5)
“What if Carol Burnett had starred in Murder, She Wrote? Jordan answers that question with a wink and a giggle in his debut mystery starring Polly Pepper. The dish on real-life Hollywood, past and present, enlivens the start of a promising series.” –PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hollywood icon Polly Pepper receives the ultimate tribute when she inherits a rundown English castle from a devoted fan. But owning a castle is no fairy tale, especially when it comes with a resident ghost and a murder investigation. Polly’s dream of turning the castle into a lucrative tourist destination and up-scale wedding venue hits a snag when the loathsome housekeeper, Gwellyn Clogg, is found dead in the larder.
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What’s Left of Me (A Bittersweet Harbor Novel Book 2)
Quiet and steadfast, lobsterman Holden Foster has loved Kate Belshaw since he was an awkward teenager without a hope of winning her heart. When she married his best friend right out of high school, he believed she was lost to him forever. That didn’t stop him from watching over her and her young son each time her military husband deployed to the far side of the world. Fifteen years later, she’s a single mom—and he’s no longer a self-conscious teen. He’s always been there for Kate, even if she didn’t realize it. But can he convince her to take a chance on a man who will love her the way she deserves?
More info → The Road to Mandalay (The Lighter Side of Love Book 1)
Kate Manion is a dreamer mired in the real world. She’d dreamed of being a painter. Finding herself in charge of her family, she works in an office instead. So when she is given the gift of a week’s vacation on an old-fashioned tall ship, she can be forgiven for succumbing to fantasy. Especially when she finds herself caught in the sights of the captain of the ship, Englishman Jack Whelan.
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