Dear Reader,

As most of you know by now, I was lucky enough to begin my career writing contemporary series romances. What you may not know, however, is that my very first novel was historical-a Regency romance.

The setting of Regency England is favored among romance writers, because we view it-thanks largely to Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer-as an age of lords and ladies, of glittering balls and high fashion, where the rules of Society were very carefully set out and were expected to be obeyed. Love stories fit that mannered, sparkling age like a glove.

Being me, of course, I had to tweak both the rules and conventions of Regency England for my own forays there. And so, in Lady Thief, I give you Jennifer Courtenay, whose lovely face hides a dangerous secret both Society and the Duke of Spencer are determined to uncover. A secret that could cost her her life.

And in the Regency-set novella "Masquerade," I offer Cassandra Eden, who hides a far different kind of secret from the infamous Earl of Sheffield when fate lands her unexpectedly on his doorstep one snowy evening.

I hope you enjoy Lady Thief , written in 1980, and "Masquerade," the novella written almost fifteen years later-both presented here exactly as they were originally published. I ask only that you please remember that I was a tiny child when I began my writing career, hardly tall enough to reach the keyboard.

Seriously.

Kay Hooper