Three of Carolynn Carey's manuscripts were finalists in the Golden Heart contest of the Romance Writers of America before her first book, A SUMMER SENTENCE, was published in 2005. A SUMMER SENTENCE, a contemporary romance set in a fictional small town named Barbourville, won an Award of Merit in the HOLT Medallion contest and finaled in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest. FALLING FOR DALLAS, the second in the Barbourville series, was also an award winner. The third Barbourville book, DEALING WITH DENVER, was recognized with an Award of Merit in the HOLT Medallion contest. Most recently, both THE FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS TREE (a Barbourville novel) and MY CUPCAKE, MY LOVE were awarded first place by readers judging the HOLT Medallion contest for 2014.Carolynn was born and raised in a small town in Tennessee, which explains her pleasure in writing contemporary romances set in Tennessee towns. But as a long-time fan of Georgette Heyer, she also enjoys reading and writing about the Regency period in England. Carolynn's first published Regency, COMPROMISING SITUATIONS, won the National Readers' Choice Award in the Regency category and the 2008 Laurie Award for Published Authors. Her novel entitled MY ELUSIVE COUNTESS is set in the Regency category, as is THE SECRET CHRISTMAS CIPHERS, which won an Award of Merit in the 2013 HOLT Medallion contest.