Katy Moran

Katy Moran is a British author known for her escapist historical fiction set in an alternate universe. She is best known for her Regency romance novels.

Katy Moran was born in England. She developed a love for historical fiction at a young age. Inspired by reading Georgette Heyer's novels, she became interested in the Regency era. Moran said, "I was that child nerd who either wrote stories or thought about writing stories when she was supposed to be doing something else."

Moran worked as an editor at Scholastic before becoming a full-time writer. Her career began with Young Adult (YA) fiction. Her first novel, "Bloodline," published by Walker Books, was an Amazon New Voices title and shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2009.

In 2011, Moran published Dangerous to Know, a romance novel. In 2013, she ventured into contemporary YA fiction with Hidden Among Us, set partly in a dark faerie world, followed by its sequel, The Hidden Princess, in 2014.

Moran's interest in the Regency period led to her writing "Wicked by Design," published by Head of Zeus in 2019. This novel is a Regency romance set in an atmosphere of passion and war. Ruth Ware described the Regency Romance trilogy as "Lush, dark, utterly real and achingly romantic." The sequel, "Scandalous Alchemy," was released in 2021.

Moran's research for her Regency novels included visiting the battlefield of Waterloo. She worked with Waterloo Uncovered, a charity that combines archaeology with support for veterans. This experience influenced her portrayal of soldiers in her novels. Moran said, "How does a soldier run into danger when every instinct screams at him to run the other way?"

Katy Moran has also written under the pseudonym KJ Whittaker. Her novel Game of Hearts, originally titled False Lights, is set in the same world as her Regency series. Moran recommends reading Game of Hearts before Wicked by Design and Scandalous Alchemy for the best experience.

Katy Moran now lives in Shropshire with her husband and three sons. When she is not writing, Moran enjoys renovating her Georgian house in the Welsh borders. She also leads writing classes for veterans.

Photo credit: katymoran.co.uk