Alexandra Sellers is a writer and author of 40 contemporary romance novels and a cat language textbook considered by some to be an academic spoof. Her novels have been published in various Harlequin and Silhouette category lines, including Desire, Intrigue, Mills & Boon, Special Releases, Presents, Intimate Moments and Special Edition, as well as by Entangled and Dell. She is best known for her Sons of the Desert sheikh series. Biography Early life and influences Sellers became interested in exotic locations when she was 10 and read The Arabian Nights. The book inspired her to begin writing, and she penned her first story called "Stormy", a fictionalized account of the life of her cat from the cat's perspective, soon after. Sellers believes that any writer is influenced by every writer they've read. Sellers' favourite authors include Doris Lessing, Jane Austen, Robertson Davies and romance authors such as Jane Donnelly and Mary Burchell. Among books that have strongly influenced her are The Sufis by Idries Shah, The Thousand and One Nights translated by Richard Burton, Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, by Jane Austen. In poetry she admires Icons of Flesh by Glen Sorestad, The Pig Poets: An Anthology of Porcine Poesy by Henry Hogge. Education Sellers has studied eight foreign languages, including French, German, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, and Italian. She attended the School of Oriental and African Studies, or SOAS, a public research university located in London, United Kingdom that specializes in arts and humanities, languages, laws and social sciences relating to Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Sellers was the first student to study for a double degree in Persian and Religious Studies; she was awarded First Class Honours. She also studied Hebrew in Israel, Persian in Iran, and Arabic in Yemen. Writing career In her first attempt, Sellers submitted both a romantic short story and a science fiction short story to publishers. "Dear Aunt Martha" sold immediately, but the science fiction story was rejected by the first publisher who received it. Sellers took this as a sign to concentrate on the romance genre. Her first full-length novel was published in 1980, and after this Sellers became a full-time writer. Many of her novels are set in exotic locations, some of them fictional countries. Romantic Times has described her novels as "enchanting...superbly integrating a memorable plot, delightful characters, and tender emotion." It has been said that