Fern Michaels is the pen name of Mary Ruth Kuczkir, who was born in Hastings, Pennsylvania on April 9th, 1933, weighing only four and one-half pounds. Because of her small birth weight, Michaels' father nicknamed her "Dink," for "dinky little thing. Her family and friends still use the nickname. As a child, though, others referred to her as Ruth. Once she entered the business world, she became "Mary."

Michaels married, moved to New Jersey, and had five children. When the youngest entered school in 1973, her husband told her to get a job. Because she had no idea how to get a job, Michaels decided to try to write a book. Her husband was not very supportive of her efforts, and is consequently now an ex-husband.

Although her first manuscript did not sell, the second did. Since then, Michaels has sold over sixty books, many of them New York Times bestsellers. She has been quoted as saying that she loves breathing life into her characters. She also loves writing books about women who prevail under difficult circumstances, which she feels reflect her struggle for success early in her career. For her efforts, she has been inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame.

When she was a girl, Michaels' grandmother told her "when God is good to you, you have to give back". With this in mind, she founded the Fern Michaels Foundation, which grants four year scholarships for deserving students. In addition to that, she has also helped establish pre-school and day care programs with affordable rates for single mothers.

Michaels currently lives in Summerville, South Carolina, in a 300 year-old plantation house listed in the Historic Registry. She claims to share the house with a ghost named Mary Margaret (which had also been documented by the previous owners). Mary Margaret is said to leave messages on her computer.

Captives

• Captive Passions (1977)
• Captive Embraces (1979)
• Captive Splendors (1980)
• Captive Secrets (1991)

Note: Captive Innocence (1981) is not part of this series. It is a separate novel.

Texas

• Texas Rich (1985)
• Texas Heat (1986)
• Texas Fury (1989)
• Texas Trilogy (omnibus) (1991)
• Texas Sunrise (1993)

Sins

• Sins of Omission (1989)
• Sins of the Flesh (1990)

Vegas

• Vegas Rich (1996)
• Vegas Heat (1997)
• Vegas Sunrise (1995)
• Vegas Trilogy (omnibus) (2001)

Kentucky

• Kentucky Rich (2001)
• Kentucky Heat (2002)
• Kentucky Sunrise (2002)

Sisterhood

• Weekend Warriors (2003)
• Payback (2004)
• Vendetta (2005)
• The Jury (2005)
• Sweet Revenge (2006)
• Lethal Justice (2006)
• Free Fall (2007)

Sisterhood: Rules of the Game

• Hide and Seek (2007)
• Hokus Pokus (2007)
• Fast Track (2008)
• Collateral Damage (2008)
• Final Justice (2008)
• Under the Radar (2009)
• Razor Sharp (2009)
• Vanishing Act (2009)
• Deadly Deals (2009)
• Game Over (2010)

Cisco

• No Place Like Home (2002)
• Family Blessings (2004)

The Godmothers

• The Scoop (2009)

Novels

• Pride and Passion (1975)
• Vixen in Velvet (1976)
• Valentina (1978)
• Golden Lasso (1980)
• Sea Gypsy (1980)
• Beyond Tomorrow (1981)
• Paint Me Rainbows (1981)
• Whisper My Name (1981)
• The Delta Ladies (1981)
• Captive Innocence (1981)
• Night Star (1982)
• Tender Warrior (1982)
• Wild Honey (1982)
• Panda Bear Is Critical (1982)
• All She Can be (1983)
• Free Spirit (1983)
• Cinders to Satin (1984)
• To Taste the Wine (1987)
• For All Their Lives (1991)
• Seasons of Her Life (1994)
• To Have and to Hold (1994)
• Desperate Measures (1994)
• Serendipity (1994)
• Yesterday (1995)
• Wish List (1995)
• Dear Emily (1995)
• Whitefire (1997)
• Finders Keepers (1998)
• Sara's Song (1998)
• Annie's Rainbow (1999)
• Celebration (1999)
• Split Second (1999)
• The Guest List (2000)
• Picture Perfect (2000)
• Listen to Your Heart (2000)
• What You Wish for (2000)
• Charming Lily (2001)
• Plain Jane (2001)
• The Future Scrolls (2001)
• Late Bloomer (2002)
• About Face (2003)
• Trading Places (2003)
• Crown Jewel (2003)
• The Real Deal (2004)
• The Nosy Neighbor (2005)
• Pretty Woman (2005)
• Fool Me Once (2006)
• Hey, Good Looking (2006)
• The Marriage Game (2007)
• Up Close and Personal (2007)

Omnibus

• Desperate Needs (1995) (with Emilie Richards and Sherryl Woods)
• A Joyous Season (1996) (with Olga Bicos, Jennifer Blake, Hannah Howell)
• Heartbreak Ranch (1997) (with Dorsey Kelley, Chelley Kitzmiller, Jill Marie Landis)
• Homecoming (1997) (with Deborah Bedford, Janet Dailey, Dinah McCall)
• Heart of the Home (1997) (with Denise Domning, Brenda Joyce and Bronwyn Williams)
• Through the Years (1999) (with Linda Howard, Debbie Macomber)
• Five Golden Rings (2000) (with Jo Beverley, Brenda Joyce and Katherine Sutcliffe)
• Shattered Night: Split Second and Picture Perfect (2001)
• The Delta Ladies / Wild Honey (2002)
• Finders Keepers / Yesterday / Celebration (2002)
• Maybe This Time (2003) (with Emilie Richards and Sherryl Woods)
• Let It Snow (2003) (with Holly Chamberlin, Marcia Evanick, Virginia Henley)
• Kentucky Rich / Kentucky Heat / Kentucky Sunrise (2003)
• Jingle All the Way (2004) (with Theresa Alan, Jane Blackwood and Linda Lael Miller)
• Deck the Halls (2004) (with Marcia Evanick, Virginia Henley, Lisa Jackson and Linda Lael Miller)
• Dream of Me: Whisper My Name / Paint Me Rainbows (2004)
• Weekend Warriors / Payback (2005)
• Listen to Your Heart / What You Wish For / Plain Jane (2005)
• Sugar and Spice (2006) (with Beverly Barton, Joanne Fluke, Shirley Jump)
• Captive Passions / Captive Embraces (2006)
• Captive Splendors / Captive Secrets (2006)
• Texas Fury / Texas Sunrise (2006)
• Texas Rich / Texas Heat (2006)