Kathleen Woodiwiss, born Kathleen Erin Hogg on June 3, 1939, in Alexandria, Louisiana, was a pioneering American author of historical romance novels. She is widely recognized for her significant contribution to the romance genre, having been one of the first authors to introduce detailed sex scenes and monogamous relationships in historical settings. Woodiwiss was the youngest of eight siblings, born to Gladys (Coker) and Charles Wingrove Hogg, a disabled World War I veteran.
Woodiwiss's passion for storytelling began at a young age, with her creating original narratives to help herself fall asleep by age six. At age sixteen, she met U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ross Eugene Woodiwiss at a dance, and they married the following year. Woodiwiss wrote her first book in longhand while living at a military outpost in Japan. Despite facing numerous rejections from hardcover publishers, she ultimately found success in paperback, with the publication of her groundbreaking novel, "The Flame and the Flower" in 1972. The novel became an instant New York Times bestseller and revolutionized mainstream publishing by featuring an epic historical romance with a strong heroine and impassioned sex scenes.
Woodiwiss's writing style greatly influenced the romance genre, with her novels concentrating primarily on historical fiction that tracked the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroine and the hero who rescued her. Her novels featured longer plots, more controversial situations and characters, and more intimate and steamy sex scenes. Some of her most popular works include "Shanna," "Ashes in the Wind," "Petals on the River," and "The Elusive Flame."
Woodiwiss was an avid horse rider who at one time lived in a large home on 55 acres in Minnesota. After her husband's death in 1996, she moved back to Louisiana. She died in a hospital on July 6, 2007, in Princeton, Minnesota, aged 68, from cancer. She was survived by two sons, Sean and Heath, their wives, and numerous grandchildren. Her third son, Dorren, predeceased her. With more than thirty-six million copies of her bestselling novels already in print, Woodiwiss remains one of America's most successful and beloved storytellers.