Sherry Thomas is a highly acclaimed author, known for her work in multiple genres including romance, young adult fantasy, mystery, and duology. She is a USA Today-bestselling author, who has received prestigious reviews from esteemed publications such as Kirkus, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly. Thomas has also been recognized by media organizations such as the New York Times and National Public Radio.
Born in China, English is Thomas's second language. Her earliest experiences of English were through her grandmother doing English language newspaper crossword puzzles. Upon moving to the United States at the age of thirteen, she improved her English through reading romance and fiction novels. Thomas's debut novel, an English-set Victorian romance, was first published in 2006, after seven failed attempts. She has since branched into young adult fantasy and traditional historical settings, with novels set in Imperialist China. Two of her novels, "His at Night" and "Not Quite a Husband," have won the Best Historical Romance award at the RITA awards in 2011 and 2010 respectively.
Thomas has a unique approach to her writing career, deciding early on that she would only write novels that she would enjoy reading. She has published novels in the romance, mystery, fantasy, and wuxia-inspired duology genres. Thomas is known for her gender-bending Lady Sherlock historical mystery series, which includes "A Study in Scarlet Women," "A Conspiracy in Belgravia," and "The Hollow of Fear," all of which are NPR best books of the year. In 2019, she released "The Magnolia Sword," the first young adult retelling of the original Ballad of Mulan in the English language.
Thomas currently resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and sons. When she is not writing, she can be found thinking about the zaniness and zen of her writing career, reading books, and playing computer games with her sons.