Dear Reader,

           I can’t tell you how happy and grateful I am that a book I wrote more than twenty years ago is still in print—and better yet, getting a new life!

           And it’s all because of you.

           It’s not often that an author gets the chance to reintroduce a book she wrote under a pen name more than twenty years ago! But Educating Caroline—a sexy Victorian historical romance about a sheltered young woman who decides to pursue lessons in love-making from London’s most notorious bachelor—has always been a little different…

           Long before I was writing #1 New York Times bestselling YA and contemporary romance novels under the name Meg Cabot, I was writing sexy historical romances under the pen name Patricia Cabot. It all started when I was in high school and first saw the movie Romancing the Stone. That’s when I realized how much I wanted to write historical romance novels, just like the film’s main character, Joan Wilder.

           But how was I going to keep my very proper grandmother from finding out? A strong believer in both the Catholic church and thank you notes, Grandma would never approve of her eldest granddaughter writing “naughty books.”

           So I wrote my romances secretly all through high school and college, never showing them to anyone—not only because I was afraid no one would like them, but also to keep Grandma from finding out!

           Then in 1994, my dad died suddenly at the age of fifty-three. That’s when I realized that life is too short not to try to pursue your dreams—if there’s something you’ve always longed to do, do it today (so long as it isn’t illegal).

           So the day I got home from my dad’s funeral, I sent out my first manuscript—under the pen name Patricia Cabot. It promptly got rejected.

           But I kept trying, because like Grandma always said, “You're not a hundred dollar bill. Not everyone is going to like you.”

           Four years later, my first book—written by “Patricia Cabot”—got published. I went on to write dozens more novels, many of which won awards, became international bestsellers, and were even made into feature films and television series. I eventually retired the Patricia Cabot pen name…but only because someone told Grandma about my secret identity!

           To my surprise, my novels written as Patricia Cabot turned out to be her favorites of all of my books.

           Which is just another reason I’m so delighted that Educating Caroline is currently being rereleased: There’s a chance they might become your favorites someday, too!

           In the meantime, I’ll forever be grateful to Grandma—and to all of you—for supporting me. So please allow me to express my gratitude the way Grandma would most want me to—with a thank you note:

           Thank you for making all of my writing dreams come true. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!