Sarah Holland is a writer, actress and singer best known for her 22 romantic novels for Harlequin which have been published in over 130 countries, selling millions of copies worldwide. She has also written for television, newspapers and the screen as well as appearing in films; most notably the award winning Texan movie Artois the Goat (2009). Holland wrote her first book, Too Hot To Handle at 18, and became one of the youngest romantic novelists in history when it was published in 1982.

Personal life

Holland was born on November 1961 at Folkestone

Folkestone

Folkestone is the principal town in the Shepway District of Kent, England. Its original site was in a valley in the sea cliffs and it developed through fishing and its closeness to the Continent as a landing place and trading port. The coming of the railways, the building of a ferry port, and its...

, Kent, England. The daughter of Sheila Coates Holland (best-selling novelist Charlotte Lamb

Charlotte Lamb

Sheila Holland, née Sheila Ann Mary Coates was best known as the pseudonym Charlotte Lamb, a prolific and bestselling romantic novelist...

) and classical biographer, ex-Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

 journalist Richard Holland

Richard Holland

Richard Holland or Richard de Holande , Scottish writer, author of the Buke of the Howlat, was secretary or chaplain to Archibald Douglas, Earl of Moray and rector of Halkirk, near Thurso....

, she has two sisters; poet Jane Holland

Jane Holland

Jane Holland is an award-winning English poet, performer and novelist whose poems have been widely published in magazines and broadcast on the radio. She won an Eric Gregory Award from the Society of Authors for her poetry in 1996...

 and artist Charlotte Holland, and two brothers Michael Holland and David Holland; both musicians. http://www.iomtoday.co.im/what-where-when/An-evening-with-Holland-and.4367649.jp http://www.songwriters.ca/member/MichaelHolland

Holland suffered epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

 briefly in her teens and had to leave Wanstead High School

Wanstead High School

Wanstead High School , formerly Wanstead County High School, is a co-educational, non-denominational, comprehensive high school in Wanstead, London, United Kingdom.-Admissions:...

, London with a handful of O levels at sixteen. Subsequently educated at home by her parents, who owned a private library of over 50,000 books, she moved to the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

 with them in 1978 and, in 1980, began training to write at her mother's side.

Holland has travelled extensively, writing and researching in 56 countries and 5 continents, many of which feature in her books. She has lived in England, the Isle of Man, Hong Kong, Australia, Holland, France and the United States (Texas and San Francisco).

Writing career

Because of the speed of her writing and the success of her books, Holland was nicknamed Mouton Cadet, a wordplay on Lamb's Daughter, by publishing brothers Alan Boon and John Boon, who then ran Mills & Boon

Mills & Boon

Mills & Boon is a British publisher of romance novels. It was founded in 1908, and was independent until its purchase in 1971 by Harlequin Enterprises with whom the company had had a long informal partnership...

. This industry nickname was later reported in the non-fiction book The Merchants of Venus: Inside Harlequin and the Empire of Romance by Paul Grescoe (1998). Holland was living in San Angelo, Texas

San Angelo, Texas

San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...

 in April 2008 when the FLDS Mormon-splinter sect case shot to international prominence and, as a Contributing Journalist, wrote about it for the San Angelo Standard-Times

San Angelo Standard-Times

San Angelo Standard-Times is a daily newspaper based in San Angelo, Texas, USA, since 1884. It is owned by the newspaper group, The E.W. Scripps Company....

sparking a news debate as well as giving interviews to Texan news agencies including San Angelo Live. In late 2008, Holland moved to London, England where she worked as Publication Director for a national celebrity magazine empire for 2 years. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sarah-holland/27/46b/519 https://plus.google.com/114328403550573642410#114328403550573642410/about In June 2011, she was appointed Editor-in-Chief of La Creme Magazine. http://www.lacrememagazine.co.uk/

Influences

Holland is also an actress and singer and many of her books reflect this. The heroines of Bluebeard's Bride (1985), Adult Love (1991) and Desert Destiny (1991) are all singers and the books have music business backgrounds. The Devil's Mistress (1982), Forbidden Passion (1991) and Blue Fire (1994) are all set in the film industry with both movie star heroes and heroines. The hero of Too Hot To Handle (1982) is a pop star; the hero of Red Hot Lover (1998) is a movie star.

Screen writing career

In 1995, Holland studied screen writing at the Robert McKee Story Structure Course in London and was invited to write a 6 minute teleplay for Island of Dreams, part of the Granada Television

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 series, Being There. Island of Dreams was nominated for Best Documentary of 1996 by The Royal Television Society (Northern) and sold to over 13 countries. In 1999, Holland wrote a film screenplay, Abuse Of A Dominant Position for Iron Pictures, Manchester Ltd.

Acting career

At 20, Holland enrolled at the London E15 Acting School and embarked on an acting career which has included film, television and 4 years in leading roles in theatre. She performed Shakespeare for BBC 2's Bard On The Box series (1994) and won the supporting actress role opposite Hollywood superstar Jack Palance

Jack Palance

Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...

 in Treasure Island (1999 film)

Treasure Island (1999 film)

Treasure Island is a 1999 film adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. It was directed by Peter Rowe, and starred Kevin Zegers as Jim Hawkins and Jack Palance as Long John Silver in his final film appearance....

 directed by Peter Rowe

Peter Rowe (Filmmaker)

Peter Rowe is a Canadian filmmaker specializing in themes of exploration and adventure. His latest production is the 39 part television series Angry Planet, which airs on 10 television networks around the world...

; also starring Patrick Bergin

Patrick Bergin

Patrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....

 and Kevin Ziegers. Her Equity registered stage name is Abigail Rhode (Abby Rhode). She has appeared in a number of films through the Isle of Man Film Commission. In 2008, Holland played French author Eva Verrane in the award winning film Artois The Goat

Artois the Goat

Artois the Goat is a comedy about goat cheese directed by Cliff Bogart and Kyle Bogart.It had a limited release but received positive reviews. Artois the Goat was screened at the First Glance Hollywood Film Festival....

, which she also narrated; it was directed by Cliff and Kyle Bogart and shot in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival

Sundance Film Festival

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...

 with the world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival 2009 at Austin, Texas. Artois the Goat gained a string of nominations and awards at international film festivals in 2009/10.

Music career

Holland is also a professional singer with over 20 years experience. She has performed blues, jazz and pop all over London and the Isle of Man.

Television career

Holland has been the subject of three television documentaries. In 1982, BBC1

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

's Nationwide made a 10 minute programme about her: – Young Writer At Drama School. In 1993, BBC 2 filmed Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb for the 50 minute documentary Paradise Road directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe. In 1996, a 30 minute documentary was made about Sarah Holland and Charlotte Lamb; Island of Dreams, Granada Television

Granada Television

Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

.

Single novels

• Too Hot To Handle (1982)
• Tomorrow Began Yesterday (1982)
• The Devil's Mistress (1982)
• Deadly Angel (1982)
• Fever Pitch (1983)
• Bluebeard's Bride (1985)
• Outcast Lovers (1985)
• The Heat Is On (1988)
• Adult Love (1990)
• Desert Destiny (1991)
• Forbidden Passion (1991)
• Last Of The Great French Lovers (1992)
• Ruthless Lover (1992)
• Confrontation (1992)
• Extreme Provocation (1993)
• Ungoverned Passion (1993)
• Dangerous Desire (1994
• Blue Fire (1994)
• Master of Seduction (1995)
• An Obsessive Love (1995)
• The Dominant Male (1996)
• Red Hot Lover (1998)