Eileen Dreyer

Eileen Dreyer is an American author of contemporary romance, historical romance and suspense, and also publishes under the pen name Kathleen Korbel. She is a five-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award and in 1995 was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. In 2014, she competed on the TV game show Jeopardy!.

Biography Dreyer was born in St. Louis, Missouri and at the age of nineteen she began work as a trauma nurse.

She is trained in forensic nursing and death investigation and lives in Brentwood, Missouri with her husband and children. Her great-grandfather was a member of the IRA.

She published her first novel as Kathleen Korbel in 1986, writing for Harlequin's Silhouette category imprint. She said that "as a trauma nurse...she enjoyed writing romance because she liked to see good things happen to people, and scripting the story, she could be sure of that." Having grown up in a non-dysfunctional family, she said that working in the ER helped to show her the definition of a hero. "It constantly amazes me the people I've met who have had terrible things happen to them, but who live their lives well, loving and nurturing those around them. Those are my heroes. People who survive, who thrive, who triumph when there is no way they should."

Awards and reception

1987 - RT Bookclub named her Best New Contemporary Romance Author 1990 - Romance Writers of America RITA Award, Romantic Suspense – Perchance to Dream 2010 – Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Historical for Barely a Lady 2014 - Library Journal Top Ten Best Romances of 2014 – Twice Tempted