Jessica Rowley Pell Bird Blakemore (born April 19, 1969) is an American novelist. Under her maiden name, Jessica Bird, she writes contemporary romance novels, and as J.R. Ward, she writes paranormal romance. She is a three-time winner of the Romance Writers of America RITA Award, once as Bird for Best Short Contemporary Romance for From the First and twice as Ward for Best Paranormal Romance for Lover Revealed and Dearest Ivie, and her books have been on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Biography

Born Jessica Rowley Pell Bird in Massachusetts, United States, she is the daughter of W. Gillette Bird Jr. and Maxine F. Bird. She began writing as a child, penning her thoughts in diaries as well as inventing short stories. The summer before she went to college she wrote her first book, a romance novel. After that, she wrote regularly, but for herself. Bird attended Smith College where she double majored in history and art history, concentrating on the medieval period. She then received a Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School and worked in healthcare administration for several years, including as the Chief of Staff at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts. In 2001, Bird married John Neville Blakemore III. Her new husband encouraged her to try to get an agent and market her manuscripts. She found an agent, and in 2002 her first novel, a contemporary romance called Leaping Hearts, was published. Several years later, Bird invented a world populated by vampires and began writing single-title paranormal romance novels under the pen name J.R. Ward. These novels are a series, known as the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Bird likes to write series novels which incorporate characters from her previous books. She likens the process of creating a series to "meeting friends through other friends". Her heroes are most often alpha males, "the tougher, the cockier, the more arrogant, the better", while the heroines are smart and strong. The Romance Writers of America awarded her the RITA Award for Best Short Contemporary Romance in 2007 for her novel From the First. She has also been nominated six times for Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards, winning once for Lover Awakened. She was also number 2 on the New York Times Bestsellers List of 2014.

As Jessica Bird

Single novels

The Moorehouse Legacy Series

The O'Banyon Brothers Series

Omnibus

Collections in collaboration

As J. R. Ward

Black Dagger Brotherhood Universe

The Black Dagger Brotherhood

Christmas Novels

Novellas

Supplement

Omnibus

Fallen Angels Series

Same universe but takes place in an earlier timeline.

Black Dagger Legacy

Spin-off series that details the trainees.

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp

Lair of the Wolven

The Bourbon Kings

Firefighters

Novella

The Kingdoms of the Compass

Collections in collaboration

Awards and reception