Keeping her readers mesmerized

“In plotting a book, my goal is to raise the stakes for the characters and, in so doing, keep the reader mesmerized.“– Barbara Delinsky

Born in Boston in August, 1945, Delinsky started her writing career in the late 1970s, working as a newspaper reporter and photographer while simultaneously becoming a key volunteer and advocate for many medical causes, particularly on behalf of cancer victims and survivors.

In 1980 she turned to writing romance novels, working under the pseudonym Billie Douglass.  While writing under that name for Silhouette Books, she also got into the market for Harlequin, writing under her own name.

After extraordinary success with both publishers and names, she decided to work strictly as Barbara Delinsky and eventually re-issued some of her Billie Douglass books under her own name.  To date, she has more than 30 million copies of her books published in 25 languages and has won numerous awards, including several “best novel” prizes.  One of those, A Woman's Place, also was made into a “Lifetime” movie. 

In 2001, as a breast cancer survivor, Delinsky branched into nonfiction with Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivors.             Proceeds from that book and a second nonfiction work have been donated to fund an oncology fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital to help train breast surgeons. 

Delinski has authored more than 60 books, each a stand-alone title.  “Each of my books is different from the last, each with its own characters, its own setting, its own themes,” she said.   “As a writer, I need the variety. I sense my readers do, too.”

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