Sarina Bowen

Writes contemporary romance around hockey and small-town Vermont, and co-writes the Him books with Elle Kennedy, which is where a lot of readers first meet her.

The True North series is set on a family cider farm and is warmer and slower than the campus books. Bowen self-publishes much of her catalogue and has been open about the economics of that choice, which is unusual in a field where most authors stay quiet about money.

The Understatement of the Year handles a closeted athlete with more care than the genre generally manages.