"The queen of nineteenth century re-imaginings." —Los Angeles Magazine

Syrie James is an author and screenwriter. Her name is pronounced "Sear-ee" (rhymes with Dearie.) Apparently, her first name was inspired by a character in a radio show her mother listened to as a little girl--at least that's what her mom told her. Her mom loved the sound of the name so much, she vowed that when she grew up, if she had a daughter, she'd name her Syrie. Having no idea how to spell it, she made it up.

Although it was a challenge growing up with a name that no one could pronounce or spell, Syrie eventually grew fond of it, finding it fun to be different. She still finds herself spelling out her name to everyone she meets.

Syrie was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and moved west at age one because her father didn't like shoveling snow. She has lived most of her life in California, if you don't count the two years as a child when she lived in France.

(L to R) With son Jeff, his wife Yakun, son Ryan, his wife Evey, Syrie, and her husband Bill.

After a successful career in Hollywood, in which she sold nineteen screenplays and teleplays in a variety of genres to Tri-Star Pictures, Fox Family Films, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX TV and the Lifetime Network, Syrie decided to follow her passion and write a novel. Syrie was thrilled when her first work of historical fiction (about one of her favorite authors), The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, sold at auction after a two-day bidding war between three major publishing houses, received critical acclaim, and became a bestseller. To date, her books have been translated into sixteen foreign languages.

Syrie grew up in San Jose, California. Her father, Morton Astrahan, was one of the fathers of computer science. Her mother, Joann, told Syrie: "You can be anything you want to be when you grow up. Except maybe a famous model. They need really good cheek bones."

When Syrie was in the sixth grade, her grandparents gave her an old typewriter and she wrote her first book. "Thankfully," Syrie says, "I never showed it to anyone. But I was hooked. Creating stories and characters, and retreating into my imagination, was thrilling to me. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be a writer."

Syrie was Valedictorian of her high school class and graduated cum laude from U.C. Davis with a B.A. in English and Communications, where she was awarded a Departmental Citation for Outstanding Accomplishment in English.

Syrie has long been a fan of British literature of the 19th century. She also enjoys reading in a variety of other genres, including historical fiction, paranormal fiction, women's fiction, biography, memoir, historical romance, mystery, and the classics.

Two of Syrie's favorite authors are Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë. Syrie's husband Bill, who has joined her in watching all the film versions of Miss Austen's novels several times over and every film version of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights ever made, has come to share her enthusiasm, if not her obsession. Syrie also loves writing about vampires, angels, and the paranormal.

Syrie lived in Paris when she was seven years old, and had visited more than two dozen countries by age eight, which instilled in her a lifelong love of traveling. Her other favorite pursuits include movies, the theater, eating great food, playing games with family and friends, Scrabble, photography, sewing, and the out of doors. Syrie designed and maintains her own website. Like Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë, Syrie is very fond of the countryside, and taking a long walk.

Syrie writes every weekday from 10 - 6. She says, "Many people can't wait for the weekend to arrive. It's the opposite for me. I truly love my jam-packed weekends, but from the time I turn off the computer on Friday evening to the moment I'm back in my chair on Monday morning, I'm anxious to get back to the characters I left in limbo, who are just waiting for me to continue their story."

When she's not reading, researching, writing, or updating her website, Syrie's preferred activity is to spend time with her husband and family. Syrie married her college sweetheart, Bill James, and she considers their sons Ryan and Jeff to be her finest achievements. Syrie and Bill were thrilled to welcome two wonderful daughters to their family, Ryan's wife Yvonne, and Jeff's wife Yakun! And now, Syrie is happy and excited to have co-authored a novel with her son Ryan, a truly wonderful experience.

Check out Syrie's blog here.