Jeanne Allan

Jeanne Allan was the pen name of romance writer Barbara Blackman, who published numerous novels for Harlequin. The Waiting Heart appeared as Harlequin Romance number 2875 in 1987. Its central character, Susan, is a city schoolteacher whose accident leaves her snowbound for two weeks on Burke Gerard’s Colorado ranch. Burke is accustomed to directing the people around him, but Susan resists his assumptions and refuses to let isolation decide her feelings. Their conflict develops through contrasting temperaments and the presence of another woman who also wants Burke’s attention. Allan uses the ranch and winter weather to create a contained setting where first impressions must be reconsidered. The Waiting Heart belongs to the concise category-romance tradition, yet its central movement depends on Susan maintaining judgment and self-command before affection becomes possible. The novel also illustrates Blackman’s professional use of a consistent byline across a substantial Harlequin career, linking this Colorado story with a wider body of relationship-centered fiction.