Who is Jennifer Crusie

Jennifer Crusie was born Jennifer Smith in Wapakoneta, OH. She prefers to be called Jenny, and chose to use the last name "Crusie" for her pen name to to honor her maternal grandmother (who was born a Crusie). Jenny graduated from Wapakoneta High School, and earned a bachelor's degree in Art Education from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. She has a Master's in Professional Writing and Women's Literature from Wright State University, and an MFA in Fiction from Ohio State University. She has also completed work towards a Ph.D. in feminist criticism and nineteenth century British and American literature at Ohio State University.

Jenny Crusie married an Air Force man in 1971, and the couple was sent to Wichita Falls, TX. They then transferred to Dayton, OH. The couple, who have one daughter, Mollie, have divorced.

Nina Askew has always wanted a puppy, but her ex-husband had always refused. Following her divorce and facing her fortieth birthday, she heads to the pound in search of a cute, cuddly, perky puppy to cheer her up. But instead she is drawn toward an older, midsized, seemingly depressed mutt - too big for her apartment, too melancholy for her state of mind, but she can't help but adopt him anyway. With Fred now in her life, everything seems to change - her priorities, her attitude and, unexpectedly, her love life when Fred brings Nina's much younger neighbor, Alex, into the picture. Despite all the waving red flags, Nina allows herself to consider the possibility that maybe somehow he'd miraculously be interested in an older woman with a depressed dog.

Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was not all it was cracked up to be. Cheating husbands, suspicious wives, unsuspecting mistresss -- case after case left him cynical and disillusioned. This was nothing like the world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames he'd envisioned . . . until she walked through the door.

Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body -- and a lethal family to go with it. There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse . . . and left him with a case of lust like he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae only interested in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle . . . or did the lady want to catch him?

For Jennifer Crusie, writing was an accidental career. Her Ph.D. dissertation was to focus on the impact of gender on narrative strategies. To research the differences in the way men and women tell stories, Crusie vowed to read one hundred romance novels and one hundred men's adventure novels. The romance novels were so compelling that Crusie changed her dissertation to focus on romantic fiction and decided to try her hand at writing some. She quit her job in the summer of 1991 to devote herself full-time to writing.

Crusie sold her first novella, "Sizzle", in August 1992. For the first three years of her career, her books were presented as category romances under the Silhouette, Harlequin, and Bantam Loveswept lines. In 1995, Crusie developed a partnership with St. Martin's Press, and began writing single title novels. Her books are known for their humor, and for the interesting scenarios her heroines are placed in. In 2005 she won a Romance Writers of America RITA Award for Best Contemporary Single Title for the novel "Bet Me".

Crusie also collaborates with author Bob Mayer on romantic adventure novels, and collaborated with Eileen Dreyer and Anne Stuart on "The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes" published in June 2007. She also continues her interest in the academic side of fiction. She published a book of literary criticism on Anne Rice under the name Jennifer Smith.

(...from Wikipedia)

Sophie Dempsey is content living a quiet life filming wedding videos until an assignment brings her to Temptation, Ohio. From the moment she drives into town, she gets a bad feeling; Sophie is from the wrong side of the tracks and everything in Temptation is a little too right. And when she has a run-in with the town's unnervingly sexy mayor, Phineas Tucker, making a little movie turns out to be more than a little dangerous. All Sophie wants to do is film the video and head home. All Phin wants to do is play pool with the police chief and keep things peaceful. They both get more than they bargained for when Sophie's video causes an uproar and the proper citizens of Temptation set out to shut them down. As events spiral out of control, Sophie and Phin find themselves caught in a web of gossip, blackmail, adultery, murder, and really excellent sex. All hell breaks loose in Temptation as Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble . . . and in love.

Mural artist Tilda Goodnight is struggling to pay off the mortgage on the family business and keep the Goodnight secrets safely hidden. Juggling her life gets even more complicated when she hides in Clea Lewis's closet and collides with sexy Davy Dempsey. Tilda is in Clea's bedroom to steal back a forged painting; Davy's there to steal Clea's account codes and retrieve the $3 million the larcenous blonde stole from him. Somehow, Tilda finds herself exchanging a mind-blowing kiss with her fellow burglar, and when Davy follows her home and rents a room from her mother, she's forced to deal with the charming con man. Everyone in Tilda's world is pretending to be someone else, including her daydreaming mother, her split-personality sister, and her cross-dressing ex-brother-in-law. All of them, including Tilda and Davy, are Faking It. What will happen when all the secrets are out and everyone knows the truth about everyone else? Will Davy recover his 3 million? Will Tilda recover all the forged paintings and find her true artistic calling? Will Tilda's mother run off to Aruba with a hit man named Ford? And exactly what is the difference between a man labeled a "doughnut" and one who deserves the title "muffin"?

1. "Welcome To Temptation"


2. "Bet Me"


3. "Faking It"

Minerva Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Even if he is gorgeous and successful Calvin Morrisey. Cal knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. Even if she does wear great shoes, and keep him on his toes. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal meet again. Soon, they're dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kreme donuts, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a freakishly intelligent cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of. Including the biggest gamble of all-true love.