RITA award-winner, Kristin Gabriel, got her lucky break when she won Harlequin's Love & Laughter contest in 1995. Her first book, Bullets Over Boise (March 1998, Harlequin Love & Laughter), combined her three favorite elements: comedy, mystery, and romance. Later, it was selected by Alliance Productions as one of the Harlequin movies and premiered on The Movie Channel in, December 1998, under the new title : Recipe for Revenge. Her second book, Monday Man (Nov. 1998 Harlequin Love & Laughter), won the 1999 RITA award for Best Traditional Romance. Now, she writes for Harlequin Duets and is very excited about her first trilogy, Café Romeo, featuring the unforgettable Callahan brothers. Kristin, a transplanted city girl, now lives in rural Nebraska, with her husband, three children, a Springer Spaniel and assorted cats. Adjusting to country life has given her plenty of fodder for her stories. So have her jobs as a waitress, telephone operator, and library employee. Her hobbies include snacking and procrastination. Readers can email her at kristin.gabriel@sff.net