JoAnn Wendt was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. At the tender age of 19, she married a young Air Force officer and immediately plunged into a life of constant travel. JoAnn, however, managed to stop along the many roads to earn both a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a master's degree from Wisconsin State University. Her talented pen and diverse background led her into free­lance writing, where she went on to win the Catherine L. O'Brien Award for outstanding achievement in women's interest newspaper reporting. JoAnn's stint as a freelance writer stimulated her creative energy. The romantic plots she contemplated grew as her knowl­edge and love of history increased. The result: a blend of sizzling romance and historical intrigue that has made loyal fans of her four award-winning novels, BEYOND SURRENDER, BEYOND THE DAWN, THE GOLDEN DOVE and BEYOND THE SAVAGE SEA. JoAnn lives with her husband in the foothills of the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains near Lake Tahoe, where she is currently working on two novels: an historical romance, THE GOLDEN RAVEN, and an historical mystery, HANGMAN'S LULLABY. In her spare time she enjoys yoga, tai chi and four delightful young grandchildren.