Between 1990 and 1997, Rebecca Paisley released eight full-length historical novels and five short stories/novellas. Each of her books featured her characteristic fantastic sense of humor and quirky heroines that you’d unlikely come across anyplace else.
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Rebbecca Paisley, Writer of Oh-So Funny Romances
American writer Rebecca Paisley is known for writing funny historical romance novels and short stories.
She has penned several wacky and off-beat heroines with magical abilities. Or, at least, they inhabit semi-magical worlds. Paisley’s romances include fantastical plots, “Han Solo” type heroes who try to act roguish but have hearts of gold, and lots of wonderful, life-affirming humor.
Her second book, Moonlight and Magic, was one of the first romances I recall making me laugh almost the whole way through.
It was a Western historical with Paisley’s hallmarks. The first was Hispano-American reluctant hero Sterling Montoya. The second was the zany, unconventional heroine Chimera, a proud gypsy witch with a coterie of animal friends.
Early Life
Rebecca Paisley was born Rebecca Boado on July 9, 1958, in North Carolina.
Boado was a self-proclaimed Air Force Brat whose grandparents settled in the Blue Ridge mountains. Her father, Emil Edward Boado, Jr., was the son of a Filipino-born American railroad employee and a Chicagoan mother named Jean.
Boado, Jr. married Betty McFadder, a nurse from Jacksonville, NC. They had two daughters, Rebecca and Lisa.
Major Emil Boado, Jr. was a pilot during the Vietnam War with the 469th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the United States Air Force. He died in a plane crash in Thailand in 1969 at the age of 34, leaving behind his wife and children.
By all accounts, Boado was a genial fellow. He was “[E]xtroverted, unable to be embarrassed, witty, corny, family first, talented…and admired by his peers,” according to a source close to him.
Although her father’s death left a hole in Paisley’s life, in her heart, he was always present. He was a source of great inspiration this his daughter. Her father’s spirit lived on, encouraging young Rebecca in her endeavors.
She inherited his sense of humor, but she also developed a great talent of her own: writing. From a young age, Boado would write and write and write… about anything and everything!
Boado began writing at a young age, penning captivating letters to her grandmother that told both true exploits and lots of tall tales and mean-spirited poems intended to annoy her sister.
Her family always supported her writing efforts and encouraged her to continue on as she grew up.
Education and Inspiration
Rebecca Boado attended Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. There, the embryonic form of the groundbreaking heroine of her first romance, Chickadee McBride, began to grow. Chickadee would be a true “hillbilly” with exaggerated speech and mannerisms of the Appalachian folk.
I lived in the Blue Ridge while in school, traveler, and PJ. I went to Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Some of the people I met in the smaller surrounding towns and other areas stayed in my thoughts for a very long time and eventually became the first, tiniest, pulsing idea for Chickadee McBride in THE BAREFOOT BRIDE.
Mountain people of today are not really like her, of course. She’s an historical heroine, and I dressed her up in speech and mannerisms to fit my story.
REBECCA PAISLEY
Rebecca Boado married Sergio Rosas in the 1970s. Together they had two children, a son named Sergio and a daughter called Paisley.
Motherhood and Writing Career
By the age of 28, Boado-Rosas had already penned hundreds of stories. However, none of them had been “serious” attempts at manuscripts. It wasn’t until after she was a married mother with a two-year-old son clinging to her that she started to write in earnest.
Rebecca Boado-Rosas used her own first name and the first name of her daughter to create her romance pseudonym, Rebecca Paisley.
Her first attempt at “legitimate” work was a very long and very serious historical romance. However, Paisley’s heart was not in the effort, as she was not writing what she wanted to read but what she believed the big New York City publishers wanted to publish.
It wasn’t. She had sent her manuscript to every major publisher and was soundly dismissed by all of them.
After 17 rejections, Paisley deeply reflected upon her craft and her intentions and writing. She had tried playing by “their” rules and lost. What did she have to lose now? Suddenly she realized how liberating it was to be beholden to no one but herself and the readers.
“I decided to write the book I wanted to read. Not a book for an editor or even readers. Freedom, at last! Freedom to invent characters that made sense to me. Characters whose thoughts mirrored mine, whose ways of doing things were my ways of doing things…
Whose hearts were offspring of mine. never thought to submit that manuscript to anyone. It was going to be mine, all mine, and no one else’s business because the heroine was so wild, so outrageous, and different. She was not a romance heroine, Chickadee McBride. She defied every romantic heroine in the publishing rules.
“But I did end up sending her and story in–and Avon Books bought her. The editor told me Chickadee McBride was a gamble, but Avon was willing to try her out. That book was The Barefoot Bride.
“After that sale, I never again wrote what other authors wrote. I stayed true to what I loved, what made me cry and laugh and be surprised. I never knew what my characters were going to do or why. I just wrote.”
REBECCA PAISLEY
One of Love’s Leading Ladies of Laughter
About the humor in her books, Paisley said this:
…I do rely on humor to hold on to my reader. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like to laugh. And I find the most humor in people and situations that are exceptionally odd. I work very hard to create heroines who are not normal. I don’t like conventional things, and I have always been drawn to people who don’t even realize how unique and funny they are.
REBECCA PAISLEY
Paisley features animals prominently in her books, as they feature prominently in her life!
Having been involved in Animal Rescue for many years, I have seen the worst and the best of mankind regarding animals. I want to believe that most people possess the kind of goodness needed to protect animals, all animals… No kind gesture, however small, goes unnoticed by a needy animal. And God bless every person who has ever helped a little beast. Or even a big beast or a finned or winged one.
Ha! My son used to gather up earthworms that had been washed away in rainstorms. He’d find them on the street and bury them back into the ground I used to tell him we wouldn’t have any dirt without the worms. From worms to elephants . . . they are all precious.
REBECCA PAISLEY
It’s not surprising that someone with such a big heart and love for all creatures, big and small, would write such exuberant, joyous books.
Career Resurgence
Rebecca published eight novels and five novellas from 1990 to 1997. I’ve seen several sites also source Yonder Lies Heaven as a 1997 release, but I can’t find any corroborating information on this.
For some reason, Paisley stepped away from writing for almost 18 years.
In 2015, she retained the publishing rights to her books and seemed poised to make a great comeback. Amber House Books released her previous Avon romances in digital format.
Two of them had new titles. Midnight and Magnolias became A Prince To Call My Own, and Rainbows and Rapture, was renamed Happily Ever After–perhaps in an effort to underscore the fairytale nature of Rebecca Paisley’s romances.
She was full of optimism about introducing her older works to a new audience, saying it felt as if her books were being published again for the first time. She also wrote a couple of short stories for anthologies and was working on a new book.
Tragedy, A Mother’s Love and the Healing Powers of Laughter
In June 2017, tragedy struck, shattering Rebecca Boado-Rosas’ world.
Her adult daughter, Paisley, a Texas resident, was having difficulties with her second marriage. Sadly, Paisley Rosas’ life ended in a murder-suicide by her husband. The Boado-Rosas family was shattered by this devastating loss.
Heartbroken by this horrific incident, Rebecca Paisley abandoned her writing career. She permanently settled in North Carolina, her home state.
Now in her mid-60s, Rebecca Boado-Rosas still lives there today. She spends time surrounded by her beloved animal companions, who always bring comfort and joy.
Although Rebecca Paisley has long left the publishing world, her books are available in Kindle and e-reader formats. Boado-Rosas has retired as a writer, but Rebecca Paisley lives on through her books.
The world is a better place when readers discover her whimsical, uplifting romances that resonate with laughter and love. For a little while, we are reminded of the beauty of being alive.
There is something MAGICAL about laughter, to my way of thinking. I mean, even little babies who don’t talk yet will laugh! What are they laughing about? They feel happy, and they laugh. I can understand more when they cry and scream from hunger or a wet diaper or over something that has startled them. But how do they know to laugh? Laughter is a magical thing the world needs more of!
REBECCA PAISLEY
Legacy
Rebecca Paisley’s insistence on staying true to herself as a writer, her glorious skill at making others laugh, her hard work, and her determination resulted in many fans, happy readers, and critical acclaim.
Her 1994 book Heartstrings won Affaire de Coeur‘s Reviewers Choice Award for “Best Historical Romance.”
Romantic Times magazine honored her with both a “Lifetime Achievement Award” and “Career Achievement Award.” In addition, she earned a Reviewers’ Choice Award for “Historical Romance Fantasy” and a “Best Love and Laughter” Award.
She has placed on Publishers Weekly’s bestseller list and was on the Romance Writers of America Honor Roll.
Rebecca Paisley was also an RWA RITA finalist.
Full-Length Historical Romances
The Barefoot Bride (Rags to Riches Series)
Can a gentleman turn a backwoods Cinderella into his very own Princess Charming?
The last thing handsome, aristocratic Saxon Blackwell needs is a bride. But a cruel ultimatum from his wicked witch of a grandmother leaves him with no choice but to seek one or lose his vast English estate forever. Saxon’s flight from high society leads him right into the arms of Chickadee McBride—a barefoot, flame-haired mountain girl with a saucy tongue, a tender heart, and her very own wolf.
Diamonds and Dreams (Rags to Riches Series)
Can an innocent miss with a preposterous plan win the jaded heart of a duke?
Goldie Mae needs a duke. If she doesn’t produce one, she’ll lose the charming English estate she calls home. When a tall, dark stranger with a sardonic drawl and glittering green eyes drags the golden-haired beauty out of a pond to “save” her from “drowning,” she believes she’s found the man who can make all her dreams come true. She offers to give the bemused fellow “duke lessons,” not realizing she is instructing the very man born to the role.
Midnight and Magnolias, aka A Prince To Call My Own (Rags to Riches Series)
Once upon a time…
Peachy McGee has always dreamed of finding her own Prince Charming and living happily ever after. When an unscrupulous doctor tells her she’s dying, she resolves to live the last of her life to the fullest—and sets sail for the tiny island kingdom of Aventine to marry herself a prince.
Moonlight and Magic (Moonlight & Magic Series)
What should a would-be enchantress do with her very own “knight in shining armor”?
Chimera’s bumbling attempts at witchcraft had only succeeded in conjuring up a reputation for lunacy. But when she sets a “werewolf trap,” she finally snares the one thing she’s been praying for—a handsome “knight” who can protect her from the ruthless land baron who has been lusting after her property.
Does a delightfully innocent “soiled dove” dare to believe in once upon a time with a notorious gunslinger?
Russia Valentine is looking for a noble Prince Charming to make all of her happily-ever-after dreams come true. But when a hardened Texas gunslinger comes swaggering into the saloon where she works, she can’t resist falling beneath the seductive spell of his midnight-black hair and glittering obsidian eyes.
Heartstrings (Moonlight & Magic Series)
WANTED: TALL, DARK-HAIRED, BLUE-EYED MAN TO SIRE GENIUS CHILD. PRIZE: $100 IN GOLD
When bluestocking bookworm Theodosia Worth resolves to bear a baby for her childless sister, she decides an advertisement is the most practical way to find a father. Leaving behind the comforts of Boston, she travels west in the hope of striking a business-only arrangement with a likely candidate.
Winner of the Affaire de Coeur Reviewers Choice Award for “Best Historical Romance”
A Basket of Wishes (Moonlight & Magic Series)
Can love’s tender spell melt the icy heart of a duke?
Jourdian Amberville, the Duke of Heathcourte, is looking for the perfect bride. A practical and staid companion who will fit into his perfectly ordered life and never tempt him to fall in love. What he is not looking for is a violet-eyed sprite who tumbles right out of the sky to knock him off his horse.
Bed of Roses (Moonlight & Magic Series)
AFFILIATE LINK
Can an outlaw princess steal the heart of a reluctant hero?
Sawyer Donovan wasn’t looking for trouble. Fleeing from his shadowed past, he seeks refuge with a group of nuns only to end up attacked by a cougar and dragged back to the lair of a bandit princess caring for a gang of elderly outlaws.
Other Rebecca Paisley Books
Rebecca Paisley Backlist
| BOOK TITLE | YEAR |
|---|---|
| The Barefoot Bride | 1990 |
| Moonlight and Magic | 1990 |
| Diamonds and Dreams | 1991 |
| Rainbows and Rapture | 1992 |
| Midnight and Magnolias | 1992 |
| Harvest Hearts (Short Story Collection) “Far Beyond Pearls” | 1993 |
| One Enchanted Christmas (Short Story Collection) “Under the Mistletoe” | 1993 |
| Heartstrings | 1994 |
| A Basket of Wishes | 1995 |
| Gingham and Gold (Short Story Collection) “Love Potion” | 1995 |
| Love Goddesses (Short Story Collection) “Tickle My Fancy” | 1996 |
| Bed of Roses | 1996 |
| A Christmas Miracle (Short Story Collection) “In a Twinkling” | 1996 |
| Yonder Lies Heaven (unpublished) | 1997 |
| A Prince to Call My Own (Moonlight and Magnolias Reissue) | 2015 |
| Happily Forever After (Rainbows and Rapture Reissue) | 2015 |
| Romantic Times (Short Story Collection) | 2016 |
| Never Fear The Tarot (Anthology) | 2016 |
Links
- The Romance Dish: Rebecca Paisley 3/2014
- Oliver-Heber Books: Rebecca Paisley
- Book Series in Order
- FictionDB
- Airforce: Together We Served
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