Michelle Hazen is a nomad with a writing problem. Years ago, she and her husband ducked out of the 9 to 5 world and moved into their truck to become desert tortoise biologists. She found her voice with the support of the online fanfiction community, and once she started typing, she never looked back. She’s now the award-winning author of nine contemporary romances that have been chosen as Amazon Editor’s picks for Best Romance (2019, 2020), and named as Booklist’s Best Romances of the Year (2019). Booklist’s starred review called her writing a “balm for the soul.”

These days, she works as a freelance editor and writing coach with Sanctuary Editorial. She’s mostly based out of Idaho, but thanks to the wonders of wifi, she and her husband are still soaking up inspiration while they travel the world and work along the way.

The idea for her contest entry book came to her when she was walking down a street in New Orleans with her teenaged goddaughter, who mentioned, “I saw my first dead body in Walmart.” Michelle stopped right there on the sidewalk and thought, “There’s a book in that sentence.” And indeed, it’s still the opening line of the book today.

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