Sports Editor

Although two of Kimberly Raymer's romance novels

share their name with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen movies, the

subject matter is a tad more adult. Raymer, a Peachtree City resident,

became interested in writing about eight years ago after taking a

creative writing course at McIntosh High School. Next she took a

course taught by author Nancy Knight at the Art Station.

Knight talked Raymer and some of her classmates into

joining the Georgia Romance Writers, a group where all the

ground rules for writing romance were laid down and all the right

contacts were established. Raymer entered a contest sponsored

Unfortunately, that book has never been published.

She has written six books so far and has had three of them

published. "50-50 isn't so bad," said Raymer. "I know of a lot of

people who have had a far worse time of it." Her first novel was sold to

the Lucky in Love line and right before it was scheduled to hit

the shelves, the company folded. Her next three books were

published by Kensington press for Wal-Mart's exclusive romance

line. While the people who buy their books outside of Wal-Mart

may not see her work, the Wal-Mart line has opened up

opportunities in the industry and is doing very well.

Her first novel for Kensington was called "Double Trouble."

The story, set in Atlanta, is about a female radio personality and

a male parenting columnist for a newspaper on a blind date.

Her second book, which hit the shelves March 17 is called "It Takes

Two" and is about a sailboat race around Bermuda. Raymer has

another book coming out at the end of April, called "Wish me Luck."

A young woman's fiance elopes with another woman days before

their wedding. She goes to Las Vegas to enjoy the honeymoon suite

"It is really great to walk into a store and see your name on

books," Raymer said. "It's nice to hold your words in your hand."

Her ultimate goal is to write historical novels about women in the

late 1800s. Historical novels take an enormous amount of research

to complete but over the years Raymer has geared herself up

for it. "I know that I've reached one of my goals," she said. " Now,

I have to establish some new ones."

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