Brenda Novak
Encyclopedia
Brenda Novak is an American
author. She has written more than 35 books, and has sold more than 3 million copies. Her novels have received critical acclaim and won many awards, including two RITA Award
nominations, the Book Buyer’s Best and the Bookseller's Best Award. They have hit many national bestseller lists, including USA Today
and The New York Times
.
. Her father worked for the government for the Bureau of Reclamation for 30 years. He retired when Brenda was 10 and moved the family to Arizona. Her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
when she was eight years old and was often sick during her childhood, but remained active in the community serving as a member of the Chandler City Council. She married Ted Novak in 1984, and they have five children. In 1993, she caught her day-care provider drugging her children to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided to quit her job as a loan officer and work from home so she could take care of her children. Novak sold her first book, a historical romance published by HarperCollins
titled Of Noble Birth, in 1998.
Novak's annual online auction for diabetes research is the largest online diabetes auction in the world and is held on her website every May. To date, she's raised over $1 million for research. For the 2010 auction, her 6th, she raised $285,780. She runs this fundraiser in honor of her youngest son, who was diagnosed with Type 1 at five years old, and the millions of others who suffer from diabetes. The proceeds to help find a cure will go to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. She and her husband and five children live in Sacramento, CA.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author. She has written more than 35 books, and has sold more than 3 million copies. Her novels have received critical acclaim and won many awards, including two RITA Award
RITA Award
The RITA Award is the most prominent award given throughout the genre of romance novel and some other romantic fiction. It is presented by Romance Writers of America . It is named for the RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada. It signifies excellence in one of 13 categories of romantic fiction.-...
nominations, the Book Buyer’s Best and the Bookseller's Best Award. They have hit many national bestseller lists, including USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Biography
Novak was born in Vernal, UtahVernal, Utah
Vernal, Uintah County's largest city, is located in eastern Utah near the Colorado State Line, and 175 miles east of Salt Lake City. It is bordered on the north by the Uinta Mountains, one of the few mountains ranges in the world which lie in an east-west rather than the usual north to south...
. Her father worked for the government for the Bureau of Reclamation for 30 years. He retired when Brenda was 10 and moved the family to Arizona. Her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
when she was eight years old and was often sick during her childhood, but remained active in the community serving as a member of the Chandler City Council. She married Ted Novak in 1984, and they have five children. In 1993, she caught her day-care provider drugging her children to get them to sleep all day. That was when Brenda decided to quit her job as a loan officer and work from home so she could take care of her children. Novak sold her first book, a historical romance published by HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
titled Of Noble Birth, in 1998.
Novak's annual online auction for diabetes research is the largest online diabetes auction in the world and is held on her website every May. To date, she's raised over $1 million for research. For the 2010 auction, her 6th, she raised $285,780. She runs this fundraiser in honor of her youngest son, who was diagnosed with Type 1 at five years old, and the millions of others who suffer from diabetes. The proceeds to help find a cure will go to the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami. She and her husband and five children live in Sacramento, CA.
Anthologies in collaboration
- Mother, Please! (2004) (with Alison Kent and Jill ShalvisJill ShalvisJill Shalvis is a USA Today bestselling American writer of over 50 romance novels since 1996. She has written four books under the pseudonym Jill Sheldon.-Biography:...
) - Sanctuary 2003/Dec (with Pamela Bauer , Judith Bowen , K.N. Casper , Laura AbbotLaura AbbotLaura Abbot , is an American writer of over a dozen romance novels primarily in the Harlequin Superromance line.-Biography:...
and Caron Todd) - More Than Words (2004) (with Susan Mallery, Diana PalmerDiana PalmerDiana Palmer is a character in the American comic strip The Phantom. She is married to Kit Walker, the titular hero. The couple have two children together, Kit and Heloise. Most recently, Diana has been working in the UN's Bangalla office.-Family:...
, Carla Neggers, and Emilie RichardsEmilie RichardsEmilie Richards is an American author of over 50 contemporary romance and mystery novels.- Early years :Emilie Richards was born in Bethesda, Maryland and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. After receiving an undergraduate degree in American studies from Florida State University, Richards earned a...
) - Family of Her Own / Brother Quest (2004) (with Lori HandelandLori HandelandLori Handeland is an American author of romance novels. She has twice won the Romance Writers of America RITA Award.- Biography :Handeland has wanted to be a writer since she was 10 years old. As an adult, she wrote her first book in a two-year span. It was chosen for publication.Handeland has...
) - Omnibus : Snow Angels (2004) (with B. J. DanielsB. J. DanielsB. J. Daniels is an American author of contemporary romance novels, primarily in the subgenre of romantic suspense. She has won a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and a Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award.-Biography:...
) - Baby Jane / We Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus / Wide Open Spaces (2004) (with Roz Denny Fox and Judith ArnoldJudith ArnoldBarbara Keiler , well known as Judith Arnold, is a best-selling American author of over eighty-five romance novels since 1983. She has also been published as Ariel Berk and Thea Frederick.-Biography:...
)