Gina Ferris Wilkins
Encyclopedia
Gina Ferris Wilkins, née Vaughan (born December 20, 1954 in Little Rock, Arkansas
, USA
) is a best-selling American
author
of over 85 romance novels. She writes novels as Gina Ferris, Gina Wilkins and Gina Ferris Wilkins.
, daughter of Beth Vaughan, an executive secretary, and Vernon Vaughan, an electrician. In February 1972, she married John Wilkins, a wood turner, and they have three children.
She obtained a journalism degree from Arkansas State University (ASU) and worked in advertising and human resources.
In 1987 she sold her first book to Harlequin
and embarked on a career as a full-time writer. Since then, she has written more than eighty-five novels for various Harlequin and Silhouette category romance lines. Her early Silhouette novels were written under the pseudonyms, Gina Ferris and Gina Ferris Wilkins, which she later dropped in favor of Wilkins. Her books have been translated in twenty languages and appear in more than one hundred countries.
Wilkins was awarded a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award in 2003 for Best Silhouette Special Edition, Make-Believe Mistletoe and has been nominated for both a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Harlequin Temptation (1998 for Tempting Tara) and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. The Georgia Romance Writers have awarded her the Maggie Award for Excellence four times, and Wilkins has seen her books appear on the Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, and USAToday Bestseller lists.
In 1999, Wilkins was forced to sue BET Publishing for plagiarism. A librarian who was a fan of Wilkins noticed that a new book she was reading, When Love Calls by Gail McFarland, appeared to very closely match a Harlequin Temptation, Hotline published in 1991 by Wilkins. After purchasing and examining the other book, Wilkins claims that over 100 pages were taken in whole or part from her work. In an out-of-court settlement reached in 2000, BET agreed to withdraw all copies of their book from booksellers and to cease any future publication of the book. Neither the publisher nor the infringing author offered an apology or admission of guilt.
Wilkins is a member of Novelists, Inc. and the Romance Writers of America
, and often speaks at schools to emphasize literacy, goal-setting, and motivation.
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is a best-selling American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of over 85 romance novels. She writes novels as Gina Ferris, Gina Wilkins and Gina Ferris Wilkins.
Biography
Born Gina Ferris Vaughan on December 20, 1954 in Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, daughter of Beth Vaughan, an executive secretary, and Vernon Vaughan, an electrician. In February 1972, she married John Wilkins, a wood turner, and they have three children.
She obtained a journalism degree from Arkansas State University (ASU) and worked in advertising and human resources.
In 1987 she sold her first book to Harlequin
Harlequin Enterprises Ltd
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a Toronto, Ontario-based company that is a publisher of series romance and women's fiction. Owned by the Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publisher in Canada, the company publishes approximately 120 new titles each month in 29 different languages in 107...
and embarked on a career as a full-time writer. Since then, she has written more than eighty-five novels for various Harlequin and Silhouette category romance lines. Her early Silhouette novels were written under the pseudonyms, Gina Ferris and Gina Ferris Wilkins, which she later dropped in favor of Wilkins. Her books have been translated in twenty languages and appear in more than one hundred countries.
Wilkins was awarded a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award in 2003 for Best Silhouette Special Edition, Make-Believe Mistletoe and has been nominated for both a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Harlequin Temptation (1998 for Tempting Tara) and a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. The Georgia Romance Writers have awarded her the Maggie Award for Excellence four times, and Wilkins has seen her books appear on the Waldenbooks, B. Dalton, and USAToday Bestseller lists.
In 1999, Wilkins was forced to sue BET Publishing for plagiarism. A librarian who was a fan of Wilkins noticed that a new book she was reading, When Love Calls by Gail McFarland, appeared to very closely match a Harlequin Temptation, Hotline published in 1991 by Wilkins. After purchasing and examining the other book, Wilkins claims that over 100 pages were taken in whole or part from her work. In an out-of-court settlement reached in 2000, BET agreed to withdraw all copies of their book from booksellers and to cease any future publication of the book. Neither the publisher nor the infringing author offered an apology or admission of guilt.
Wilkins is a member of Novelists, Inc. and the Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America
Romance Writers of America is a national non-profit genre writers association. It provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.-History:...
, and often speaks at schools to emphasize literacy, goal-setting, and motivation.
Heroes To Reed Sisters Series
- Hero in Disguise (1987)
- Hero for the Asking (1988)
- Hero by Nature (1988)
Single Novels
- Partner for Life (1988)
- Stroke of Genius (1989)
- Single and Looking
- Could it be Magic (1989)
- After Hours (1990)
- Changing the Rules (1990)
- A Perfect Stranger (1991)
- Hotline (1991)
- My Valentine (1992)
- When It's Right (1993)
- Rafe's Island (1993)
- Undercover Baby (1994)
- Gold and Glitter (1994)
- I Won't! (1995)
- All I Want for Christmas (1995)
- A Night to Remember (1996)
- The Getaway Bride (1997)
- The Father Next Door (1997)
- Healing Sympathy (1998) (Originally as Gina Ferris)
- In from the Rain (1999)(Originally as Gina Ferris)
- The Littlest Stowaway (1999)
- Surprise Partners (2000)
- The Best Man's Plan (2002)
- The Groom's Stand-in (2002)
- It Takes a Cowboy (2003)
- Make Believe Mistletoe (2003)
- Wealth Beyond Riches (2006)
- Love Lessons (2006)
- The Date Next Door (2006)
- The Bridesmaid's Gifts (2007)
James Family Series
- Cause for Celebration (1988)
- A Bright Idea (1989)
- A Rebel at Heart (1991)
Veils and Vows Series
- Taking a Chance on Love (1992)
- Designs on Love (1992)
- At Long Last Love (1992)
Southern Scandals Series
- Seducing Savannah (1997)
- Tempting Tara (1998)
- Enticing Emily (1998)
- The Rebels Return (1998)
- Seductively Yours (2000)
- Secretly Yours (2000)
- Yesterday's Scandal (2000)
Family Found: Sons and Daughters Series
- Her Very Own Family (1999)
- That First Special Kiss (1999)
- Adding To The Family (2005)
- The Borrowed Ring (2005)
- The Road To Reunion (2006)
Hot Off the Press Series
- The Stranger in Room 205 (2002)
- Bachelor Cop Finally Caught? (2001)
- Dateline Matrimony (2001)
McClouds of Mississippi Series
- The Family Plan (2003)
- Conflict of Interest (2003)
- Faith, Hope and Family (2003)
Nascar Series Multi-Author
- Almost Famous (2007)
- Hearts Under Caution (2007)
- A NASCAR Holiday 2 (omnibus) (2007) (with Pamela BrittonPamela BrittonPamela Britton was an American actress best known for appearing as "Loralee Brown" in the television series My Favorite Martian . She also starred in the film noir classic D.O.A. .-Early career:...
, Ken Casper and Abby GainesAbby Gaines-Biography:Gaines wrote her first romance novel as a teenager and submitted it to Mills and Boon for publication; the company rejected it. After her graduation from high school she attended university, where she studied French, German, Japanese and Spanish for a B.A.. Following university, she...
)
Collections
- Holding Out for a Hero (1999)
- Once a Family...: Full of Grace / Hardworking Man (2005) (Originally as Gina Ferris)
Omnibus In Collaboration
- Matched By Mistake (1996) (with Penny JordanPenny JordanPenny Halsall, née Penelope Jones better known by her pen name of Penny Jordan, is a best-selling and prolific English writer of over 200 romance novels...
and Carole MortimerCarole MortimerCarole Mortimer is a popular British writer of over 150 romance novels since 1978. She was one of Mills & Boon's youngest authors, and now is one of their most popular and prolific authors.-Biography:...
) - Valentine Delights (1997) (with Kate HoffmannKate HoffmannPeggy Hoffmann is an American writer of over 45 romance novels since 1993 as Kate Hoffmann. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin.-Biography:...
and Meryl Sawyer) - Written in the Stars (2001) (with Judith ArnoldJudith ArnoldBarbara Keiler , well known as Judith Arnold, is a best-selling American author of over eighty-five romance novels since 1983. She has also been published as Ariel Berk and Thea Frederick.-Biography:...
and Kate HoffmannKate HoffmannPeggy Hoffmann is an American writer of over 45 romance novels since 1993 as Kate Hoffmann. She lives in southeastern Wisconsin.-Biography:...
) - Heat of the Night (2002) (with Lori FosterLori FosterLori L. Foster is a best-selling American writer of over seventy romance novels as Lori Foster. She also writes Urban Fantasy novels using using her first and middle initials, L.L. Foster....
and Vicki Lewis ThompsonVicki Lewis ThompsonVicki Lewis Thompson is a best-selling U.S.American writer of over seventy romance novels. She has also been published under the pseudonyms Cory Kenyon and Corey Keaton with Mary Tate Engels.-Biography:...
) - Marriage for Keeps (2004) (with Margot DaltonMargot DaltonMargot Dalton is a pseudonym used by Phyllis Strobell to write contemporary romance novels.Dalton has been nominated for a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and for a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Fourth Horseman...
and Karen YoungKaren Young (author)Karen Young is a bestselling American author of over thirty contemporary romance novels.-Biography:Karen Young did not always intend to be a writer. Her husband Paul became an executive in a corporation and frequently relocated to different areas of the world. For the family's fifteenth move,...
) - Christmas Feast / Make-Believe Mistletoe (2004) (with Peggy WebbPeggy WebbPeggy Webb, née Peggy Elaine Hussey is an American author of romance novels.-Biography:Peggy Webb has born and raised on a farm in Lee County, Mississippi. As a child she would often sit in the hayloft and write down her stories. Her first publication came through her husband, the owner of a...
) - Secret Heir / Newlyweds (2005) (with Elizabeth BevarlyElizabeth BevarlyElizabeth Bevarly is an American writer of over 55 romance novels since 1989. She is a New York Times bestselling, award-winning author.-Biography:...
) - Intimate Surrender / The Secret Heir (2005) (with RaeAnne Thayne)
- Adding to the Family / Pregnancy Project (2005) (with Victoria Pade)
- Borrowed Ring / Where There's Smoke (2005) (with Kristin Hardy)
- Protectors in Blue (2006) (with Rachel LeeRachel LeeRachel Lee is an American violinist.Regarded as one of the most promising upcoming talents on the international stage, Rachel has performed with major orchestras worldwide, including the Chicago, Seattle, Saint Louis, and National Symphonies, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Seoul Philharmonic, and...
)
Single Novels
- Healing Sympathy (1988)
- Lady Beware (1989)
- In from the Rain (1991)
- Prodigal Father (1991)
- Babies on Board (1994)
Family Found Series
- Full of Grace (1993)
- Hardworking Man (1993)
- Fair and Wise (1993)
- Far to Go (1993)
- Loving and Giving (1994)
A Family Way Series
- A Man for Mum (1995)
- A Match for Celia (1995)
- A Home for Adam (1995)
- Cody's Fiancee (1995)
Omnibus In Collaboration
- Three Mothers And a Cradle: Rock-a-bye Baby, Cradle Song, Beginnings (1996) (with Jill Marie LandisJill Marie LandisNot to be confused with Marie Landis, an American writer who has written two novels in collaboration with Brian HerbertJill Marie Landis Not to be confused with Marie Landis, an American writer who has written two novels in collaboration with Brian HerbertJill Marie Landis Not to be confused with...
and Debbie MacomberDebbie MacomberDebbie Macomber is a best-selling American author of over 150 romance novels and contemporary women's fiction. Over 140 million copies of her books are in print throughout the world, and four have become made-for-TV-movies...
)