Nancy Bilyeau loves crafting immersive historical stories, whether it's Jazz Age New York City in "The Orchid Hour," the 18th-century Gothic manors, salons, and porcelain workshops in "The Versailles Formula," or Henry VIII's tumultuous England in "The Crown."

Her new novel is "The Heiress of Northanger Abbey," a sequel to the Jane Austen classic.

A magazine editor who has worked on the staffs of "Rolling Stone," "Good Housekeeping," and "Entertainment Weekly," Nancy draws on her journalism experience to research her books.

For her Genevieve Planche novels--"The Blue", "The Fugitive Colours", and "The Versailles Formula"--she also draws on her heritage to create a Huguenot heroine. Nancy is a descendant of Pierre Billiou, a French Huguenot who immigrated to what was then New Amsterdam (later New York City) in 1661. Pierre's stone house still stands and is the third oldest house in New York State.

Nancy lives with her family in upstate New York and enjoys reading, gardening, cooking, and touring historic houses in the Hudson Valley.

Visit Nancy's website at www.nancybilyeau.com