Helen Hoang

Helen Hoang (born 1982) is the pen name of an American romance novelist, best known for her best-selling debut novel The Kiss Quotient.

Career Prior to being published, Hoang wrote paranormal and fantasy romances with a martial arts bent. She states that she wrote on and off for around ten years before The Kiss Quotient was published. Hoang says that the writers who influence her own work the most are Jayne Ann Krentz, Christine Feehan, Nalini Singh, Elizabeth Lowell, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kresley Cole, Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, and Lisa Kleypas.

Hoang's first novel, The Kiss Quotient, was published in June 2018. The romance novel follows Stella, an autistic woman who hires an escort in order to explore intimacy with other people.

A sequel titled The Bride Test, about Esme, a hotel maid who gets offered to accompany Khai, the autistic cousin of Michael from the first book and Kirkus Reviews.

Hoang's third book in the series, The Heart Principle, was published in 2021. Hoang describes it as "a cross between a gender-swapped Sabrina and Say Anything." Her mother is a Vietnamese immigrant.

Growing up, Hoang struggled with social anxiety, which led to her turning to romance novels as an outlet that guaranteed a happy ending. During a meeting with her daughter's preschool teacher, Hoang found out that her daughter is on the autism spectrum. She researched autism and realized that she, too, is autistic. This influenced the development of The Kiss Quotient and her subsequent books.

Hoang lives in San Diego with her husband and two children.