Shirl Henke is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 best-selling author of contemporary and historical

Historical romance

Historical romance is a subgenre of two literary genres, the romance novel and the historical novel.-Definition:Historical romance is set before World War II...

 romance novels. She has eclectic tastes and has written historical, contemporary, western, and regency-themed books. She also writes mystery novels using the pen name Alexa Hunt. Some of her works have been translated into other languages.

Biography

She was born Shirl Nehrt, fifteen years after her next oldest sibling. Her father died while she was in her teens, leaving Henke alone with her mother. Henke entered the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 immediately after graduating from high school. In her first year at school she met her future husband, Jim Henke, in a shared Spanish class. Although Henke originally planned to become a journalist, she eventually earned a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 and an M.A.

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 in history (both from the University of Missouri

University of Missouri

The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

). After her graduation, she worked as a cashier for a loan company, a public welfare caseworker, the assistant circulation manager for a small newspaper, and an administrator of a federal information program for the elderly. After earning a job at the university in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 where her husband was a tenured professor, for fifteen years Henke taught history, gerontology, sociology, proposal writing for social service agencies, freshman composition, and remedial reading. Henke finally sold her first novel in 1986. Two years later, she left her teaching career to become a full-time writer. In her Henke has made the 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...

 bestseller list and the Waldenbooks

Waldenbooks

Waldenbooks , operated by the Walden Book Company, Inc., was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders Group. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware as well as a children's edutainment chain under Walden Kids...

 and B. Dalton

B. Dalton

B. Dalton Bookseller was an American retail bookstore chain founded in 1966 by the Dayton's department store chain. Located primarily in shopping malls, B. Dalton competed primarily with Waldenbooks, and operated 798 stores at its peak...

 Bestsellers list 10 times each. Her husband took early retirement in order to assist her burgeoning writing career.

Henke lives in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, where she recently took a landscaping design course at the Missouri Botanical Garden

Missouri Botanical Garden

The Missouri Botanical Garden is a botanical garden located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is also known informally as Shaw's Garden for founder Henry Shaw, a botanist and philanthropist.-History:...

 and has designed the landscaping for her yard. She and her husband Jim, a retired professor of English, have a son, Matt.

Henke is a member of the Authors Guild, Romance Writers of America

Romance Writers of America

Romance Writers of America is a national non-profit genre writers association. It provides networking and support to individuals seriously pursuing a career in romance fiction and supports top authors such as Nora Roberts and Judith McNaught.-History:...

, Missouri Romance Writers, Sisters in Crime

Sisters in Crime

Sisters in Crime is an organization that has 3,600 members in 48 chapters world-wide, offering networking, advice and support to mystery authors. Members are authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers and librarians bound by their affection for the mystery genre and their support of women...

, Novelists Inc., and International Thriller Writers

International Thriller Writers

International Thriller Writers, Inc., was founded October 9, 2004, at a meeting at Bouchercon World Mystery and Suspense Conference in Toronto, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide had joined the organization as founding members.Co-founders...

.

Santa Fe Trilogy

• Night Wind's Woman (1991)
• White Apache's Woman (1993)
• Deep As the Rivers (1997)

Blackthorne

• Love a Rebel, Love a Rogue (1994)
• Wicked Angel (2001)
• Wanton Angel (2002)

Novels

• Capture the Sun (1988)
• Summer Has No Name (1990)
• Bouquet (1994)
• A Fire in the Blood (1994)
• Bride of Fortune (1996)
• Broken Vows (1998)
• The Endless Sky (1998)
• Sundancer (1999)
• McCrory's Lady (2002)
• Finders Keepers (2005)
• Sneak and Rescue (2006)
• The River Nymph (2008)
• Pale Moon Stalker (2008)
• Chosen Woman (2009)
• Love Lessons at Midnight (TBA)

Omnibus

• The Topaz Man Presents: Presents a Dream Come True (1994) (with Jennifer Blake, Georgina Gentry, Anita Mills and Becky Lee Weyrich)
• Secrets of the Heart (1994) (with Madeline Baker, Jennifer Blake, Georgina Gentry and Patricia Rice)
• Unwrapped (2004) (with Nina Bangs, Claudia Dain)
• Captive's Return / Finders Keepers (2005) (with Catherine Mann)