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, Caf├й 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