Rochelle Alers was born and raised in Manhattan, New York. After earning degrees in sociology and psychology, she taught pre-school for a time before entering the business world.

Alers began writing her first novel in 1984, after a decade of reading romance novels. She finished her first manuscript, the novel Hideway, in 1985. After several rejections because her work did not fit the formula of a category romance novel, Alers perfected her style and was first published by Doubleday Books in 1988. She has since been published through St. Martin's Press, Ballantine Books, Odyssey, Arabesque, and Genesis Press, as well as through Silhoutte's Desire line.

Almost two million copies of her novels are now in print, and they have regularly appeared on the Waldenbooks, Borders, and Essence bestseller lists. Alers has been awarded the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

Alers writes for two hours every morning, before leaving for her full-time job as a Community Liaison Specialist for state-funded substance abuse programs on Long Island. She lives in Freeport, New York.

As Rochelle Alers

Single novels

• Careless Whispers, 1988/09
• My Love's Keeper 1991/11
• Happily Ever After 1994/09
• Home Sweet Home 1995/12
• Gentle Yearning 1998/07
• Summer Magic 1999/05
• A Younger Man 2002/11
• Secrets Never Told 2003/07
• Lessons of a Lowcountry Summer 2004/05
• All My Tomorrows 2005/08
• A Time to Keep 2006/09
• Pleasure Seekers 2007/03
• Stranger In My Arms 2007/03
• After Hours 2008/04
• Long Time Coming 2008/07
• The Sweetest Temptation 2008/07

The Hideaway Series

Prequels

1. Best-Kept Secrets (January 09

First Generation

1. Hideaway (May 1995)
2. Hidden Agenda (April 1997)
3. Vows (December 1997)
4. Heaven Sent (July 1998)

Daughters and Sisters Trilogy

1. Harvest Moon (December 1999)
2. Just Before Dawn (May 2000)
3. Private Passions (January 2001)
4. Stranger in My Arms (2007)
5. Breakaway(2010)

Sons and Brothers Trilogy

1. No Compromise (February 2002)
2. Homecoming (November 2002)
3. Renegade (June 2003)
4. Secret Agenda (2009)

The Whitfields of New York

1. Long Time Coming (June 2008)
2. The Sweetest Temptation(July 2008)
3. Taken By Storm(August 2008)

The Best Men Trilogy

1. Man of Fate (June 2009)
2. Man of Fortune (July 2009)
3. Man of Fantasy (August 2009)

The Blackstones of Virginia

1. The Long Hot Summer (February 2004)
2. Very Private Duty (October 2004)
3. Beyond Business (April 2005)

Anthologies in collaboration

• "Fresh Fruits" in Holiday Cheer (with Angela Benson and Shirley Hailstock) 1995/12
• "Hearts of gold" in Love Letters (with Donna Hill and Janice Sims) 1997/02
• Novella in Rosie's Curl and Weave (with Donna Hill, Felicia Mason and Francis Ray) 1999/02
• Novella in Island Magic (with Shirley Hailstock, Marcia King-Gamble and Felicia Mason) 2000/02
• "Sweet Surrender" in Della's House of Style (with Donna Hill, Felicia Mason and Francis Ray) 2000/07
• Novella in Welcome to Leo's (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) 2000/12
• "Stand-in bride" in Going to the Chapel (with Gwynne Forster, Donna Hill and Francis Ray) 2001/06
• "First Fruits" in Tis the Season (with Donna Hill and Candice Poarch) 2001/10
• "From the Heart" in Island Bliss (with Carmen Green, Marcia King-Gamble and Felicia Mason) 2002/02
• "Anniversary" in Twilight Moods 2002/09
• "Reunion" in Living Large (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) 2003/01
• "Summer Madness" in Four Degrees of Heat (with Reshonda Tate Billingsley, Brenda L. Thomas and Crystal Lacey Winslow) 2004/07
• "Love Lessons" in Let's Get it On (with Donna Hill, Brenda Jackson and Francis Ray) 2004/11
• Lost in Sensation & Very Private Duty (with Maureen Child) 2005/01
• The Long Hot Summer with Private Indiscretions by Susan Crosby 2005/02
• Very Private Duty with Beyond Control by Bronwyn Jameson) 2005/07
• Rules Of Attraction & Beyond Business (with Susan Crosby) 2005/07
• "A Younger Man" in When You Least Expect It (with Brenda Jackson) 2005/09
• "Shepherd Moon" in A Season of Miracles (with Adrianne Byrd, Kayla Perrin and Janice Sims) 2005/10
• Beyond Business with Apache Nights by Sheri Whitefeather 2006/09

Nonfiction

• Getting Political: Stories of a Woman Mayor (2002) (with Alice Crozier and Joan Darrah)

As Susan James

Single novels

• Reckless Surrender 1997/04