Michele Bardsley is the pen name of Michele Freeman (born Michele Renee Vail on January 21, 1970, in Tulsa, Oklahoma) who is an American writer of paranormal and contemporary romantic fiction. Bardsley is a New York Times[1] and USA Today[2] bestselling author and has published more than 40 novels, novellas, short stories, and articles since the publication of her first book in 1999. She has written young adult paranormal fiction under Michele Vail. She lives in Texas with her husband, four dogs, and two cats.
Bardsley received her first publishing contract in 1998 from pioneer electronic publisher, Hard Shell Word Factory, for her romantic comedy, Daddy In Training (out-of-print). She's had numerous short stories, novellas, and novels published by electronic, independent, and traditional publishers. Her novel, Because Your Vampire Said So (Signet Eclipse, 2008), received the 2008 RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Vampire Romance.[3]
Over the years, her work has earned awards and recognition from many organizations and publications. A few include: “A Mother Scorned” won the Grand Prize in the 72nd Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition;[4]Love Gone Wild (formerly published as Wild Women) received OWFI's coveted trophy award for Best Book of Fiction and FWA's Royal Palm Award for Best Romance Novel; and A Demon is a Girl’s Best Friend was awarded Crème de la Crème from the Oklahoma Writer's Federation, Inc. Bardsley's poetry, nonfiction, and short-short fiction have received awards and recognition from Northwoods Journal, Tulsa Community College, Byline Magazine, Scribe & Quill, Oklahoma State University, Amazing Instant Novelist, OWFI, Writer's Bloc, Writer's Digest, and WriteLink.
