Quick Facts
Biography
Stephanie Laurens is the pen name for Theonne Anne de Kretser (b. Ceylon, now Sri Lanka), a best-selling Australian author of romance novels.
Biography
Theonne de Kretser was born August 14, 1953 in Sri Lanka, which was at the time the British colony of Ceylon. When she was 5, her family moved to Melbourne, where she was raised. After continuing through school and earning a PhD in Biochemistry in Australia, De Kretser and her husband moved to Great Britain, taking one of the last true overland journeys from Kathmandu to London.
Once in London, De Kretser and her husband both began work as research scientists in Kent. They lived in an area surrounded by history. Their own cottage was built in the 16th century, while next door were the protected ruins of an early Roman villa, and nearby was a 14th-century castle.
After four years in England, De Kretser and her husband returned to Australia, where she continued to work in cancer research, eventually heading her own research laboratory. One evening she realised that she did not have any more of her favourite romance novels to read. After years of thinking about writing her own novel, during nights and weekends for the next several months she began crafting her own story. That manuscript, Tangled Reins, was the first of her books to be published. After achieving a level of success with her novels, De Kretser "retired" from scientific research and became a full-time novelist. Her novels are primarily historical romances set in the Regency time period.
Theonne de Kretser and her husband live in Melbourne with their two cats. Her pen name is a combination of the names of her daughters, Stephanie and Lauren.