When Lois Winston was twelve years old, she
wanted to be an astronaut. Motion sickness killed that career
before it got off the ground—pun intended. So she turned
to her next love, Broadway theater, only to discover she couldn’t
sing, couldn’t dance, and couldn’t act. And then
there was that little problem with stage fright. So she went
to art school, graduating with a BFA degree in Graphic Design
and Illustration, and began a career as a designer in the consumer
crafts industry, designing craft and needlework projects for
kit manufacturers and magazine and book publishers.
Then she
got the urge to write.
It all began one day when the characters
in a dream she had took over her brain and refused to leave
until she promised
to tell their story. That story became her first romance
manuscript.
Fast forward to today, and Lois is a multi-award
winning author. Over the past four years she has finaled in
three
dozen writing
contests, winning 11 of them. In 2004 she was a finalist
in the prestigious St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic contest
as well as a double finalist in the Golden Heart contest sponsored
by Romance Writers of America. In 2005 Lois again finaled in
the Golden Heart and was the First Runner-up in Dorchester
Publishing’s American Title contest.
As a result of
her placement in American Title, Lois was offered and has
accepted a contract with Dorchester Publishing. Talk
Gertie to Me, a combination chick lit/hen lit/romantic comedy
about the power of love, crafts, and an imaginary friend
will debut in April of 2006.
In addition to chick lit, hen lit,
and romantic comedy, Lois also writes romantic suspense and
cozy mysteries. And because
she isn’t satisfied juggling only a designing and writing
career, she also works as an associate for the Ashley Grayson
Literary Agency where she searches for diamonds in the slush.
