Joan Vincent’s sister brought her 200 Regencies in 1976, and Joan decided she should write one because she loved history and the written word. Thomasina made the Dalton Mass Media list, and Dell purchased seven more manuscripts.

Notes from Joan Vincent

During the summer of 1976 while confined to bed for several weeks, I read the over 200 Regencies brought by my sister Vera. I had always loved history and the written word and, rather arrogantly albeit, correctly, decided by the last Regency that I could write one at least better than the worst of them.

In 1977 a persistent mythical medieval plot that may never see the printed page took form. After it persistently demanded expression, I began writing. I completed it and then wrote Bond of Honour. After several rejections, I made a list of what publishers wanted in Regencies and then wrote Thomasina. The first publisher (Dell Publishing) I submitted it to purchased it. Upon its release, sales of Thomasina placed it on a Dalton Mass Media list. Dell purchased seven more manuscripts, one manuscript was not published due to the line's cancellation.

In 1983 financial pressures took me back to teaching. I taught in a self-contained sixth grade until 1991 when I began dividing my time between the sixth grade and developing a computer lab for the school. By 1993 I was full time in the Apple Iie computer lab. I designed, drew up specs for bids through out 1995 while continuing my teaching duties and installed a Windows 95 lab in January of 1996. Besides coordinating the use of education software by all students and teaching keyboarding and word processing to grades 3-8, I troubleshot hardware and software problems, ran the school's computer network and gained certification as a Novell Network Administrator.

From 1994 through 2000 I was the chief editor for all submissions to my church's quarterly magazine. It was a high quality production with over 1500 subscriptions at the time I resigned. After retiring from teaching in 2000, I returned to writing and the purchasing of research material. I have gathered a collection of over 1000 books that enable me to maintain historical accuracy in my work.

In the fall of that year my sister Vera insisted we attend a Romantic Times conference. The praise and first place my writing earned at a pre-conference writing seminar revitalized my enthusiasm for writing. Once again a persistent story line developed in my head--in fact the stories of a group of cavalry officers. While writing that series I readied a much shorter work for submission. And again, June 2002, the first publisher who read it purchased The Promise Rose.

In 2003 Sha-shanna Crichton of Crichton & Associates, Inc. agreed to represent Honour's Compromise. and is seeking a publisher for the work. In 2004 I sold The Scapegrace Miss, retitled The Betrothal, to Avalon Books. It will be released in June, 2005