Johanna Helen Lindsey, born as Howard, was an American writer who wrote historical romance novels. She was born on March 10, 1952, and passed away on October 27, 2019. Every book she wrote made it to the New York Times bestseller list, and many of them were number one.

Personal life

Johanna Helen Howard was born on March 10, 1952, in Frankfurt, West Germany. Her mother was Wanda Donaldson Howard, who worked in personnel management. Her father was Edwin Dennis Howard, a soldier in the U.S. Army stationed in West Germany, where Johanna was born. The Howard family frequently moved when Johanna was young because her father was in the military.

Her father always dreamed of retiring to Hawaii, but he died in 1964. That year, her family moved to Hawaii, likely to honor his dream.

In 1970, after graduating from school, Johanna met Ralph Bruce Lindsey on a blind date. They married four months later. The couple lived in Hawaii and had three children: Alfred, Joseph, and Garret. After her husband’s death, Lindsey moved to Maine and did not remarry.

Writing career

Lindsey wrote her first book, Captive Bride, in 1977 without planning. The book became popular, and the 49 novels she wrote after that also succeeded. By 2006, more than 58 million copies of her books had been sold worldwide, and her work had been translated into 12 languages.

Style

Because of the different places where they are set, Lindsey's work includes many types of romance stories. These include historical fiction, such as stories set in the medieval period, the Regency era, the American frontier, and the Viking era, as well as science fiction. Her most popular books are a series of Regency-era stories about the fictional Malory family (see Family Tree).

Richard Sandomir of The New York Times explained,

Legacy

In December 2019, Lindsey’s son, Alfred, shared that she passed away on October 27, 2019, at the age of 67. The reason for her death was advanced lung cancer.

Italian model Fabio was frequently shown on the cover of Lindsey’s books. In 1987, Fabio first appeared on the cover of Lindsey’s novel Hearts Aflame, which was painted by Elaine Duillo. This image helped begin Fabio’s career as a male model. By 1992, more than 55,000,000 romance novels featuring Fabio had been sold. In 2019, Fabio shared his sadness after learning about Lindsey’s death.