"Jennifer Blake" directs to this page. For the professional wrestler, see Jennifer Blake .
Patricia Maxwell, née Patricia Anne Ponder (b. March 9, 1942 near Goldonna, Louisiana) is a best-selling American author of over fifty novels. A member of the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame and the Affaire de Coeur Romance Hall of Fame, Maxwell has received numerous awards for her writing. Her first novel in the romance genre, Love's Wild Desire, became a New York Times Bestseller.
Maxwell has published books under five different names. Using her real name, Patricia Maxwell, she writes Gothic mystery-suspense romances; she wrote one book in collaboration with Carol Albritton, that was published under Elizabeth Trehearne, under her maiden name, Patricia Ponder, she wrote a murder mystery and a romantic suspense story, as Maxine Patrick, she wrote contemporary romances and as Jennifer Blake she writes historical romances. Many of her books are set in her native Louisiana.
Maxwell is a seventh generation Louisianan of English, Irish, Welsh, Scots-German, French and American Indian descent. She was born in a one hundred-twenty year old house constructed by her grandparents near Goldonna. She spent her childhood on a farm in Northern Louisiana. Through her mother, who belonged to a mail order book club, Maxwell was introduced at an early age to adult mysteries, westerns, historical novels, and romances. As a young teenager, she volunteered at the school library, further cementing her love of the written word.
At age 15, the former Patricia Ponder married, took her husband's surname of Maxwell, and became a housewife, and soon, a mother. She began writing one morning when she was 21, attempting to describe a very vivid dream she'd had that was set in historical Scotland. She took a six-week correspondence course on writing and began practicing as much as she could.
Writing career
For the next seven years, Maxwell sold various poems, articles, and short stories before deciding to take the time to write a novel. Her husband was very supportive of her efforts, even buying her a typewriter to make the work easier. After objectively looking at her maiden work, though, Maxwell decided that it was not good enough to sell, and promptly started on a second manuscript. This one sold in 1970, to the first publisher who actually read it. A stunned Maxwell used her first check to buy a greenhouse...something she had long wanted.
Maxwell's early works, published under her own name, were mystery suspense novels. In the mid-1970s, this type of novel became less popular, and Maxwell suddenly had trouble selling new works. After two years of struggling to find another niche, Maxwell was asked to write a proposal for an emerging genre, historical romance. Her first novel in this genre, Love's Wild Desire, became a New York Times Bestseller under the pseudonym Jennifer Blake (so that fans of her previous work would not be confused).
Maxwell has now been churning out novels as Jennifer Blake for over 30 years. She writes both contemporary romance novels as well as historicals, many of them set between 1830-1850. The vast majority of her novels are set in Louisiana.
Personal life
Maxwell writes for six hours a day, five days a week in her home office, usually completing one book each year. In her spare time, she enjoys collecting antiques, painting, and quilting. Because she is allergice to many chemicals, she and her husband maintain a small organic garden to cultivate their own produce. They also grow antique roses.
Maxwell and her husband live in Northern Louisiana, with a second home in Colorado. They have four children and several grandchildren.
