Helen Hoang is an American romance novelist. She is the New York Times bestselling author of “The Kiss Quotient” (2018), “The Bride Test” (2019), and “The Heart Principle” (2021). She began writing in 2008 but published her first book 10 years later.
Helen Hoang was raised in Minnesota. Her mother is a Vietnamese immigrant. She had a passion for reading from an early age. Helen read her first romance novel in eighth grade and has been addicted ever since.
Before becoming an author Helen received an undergraduate business degree and worked in finance after college. She started by writing paranormal and fantasy romances with a martial arts bent. By the writer's admission, "it was fabulously horrible".
She had to struggle through several "practice books" before she wrote her first bestseller. During the Pitch Wars contest, her mentor was Brighton Walsh. And it was a turning point for Helen's writing career.
She rose to fame with her debut novel, The Kiss Quotient. The book came out in June 2018 and received good reviews from readers and in the press.
“The Kiss Quotient is unexpected, unconventional, and unputdownable. Hoang’s writing has a sharp, quirky, emotional edge that will resonate with anyone who has ever tried to navigate the complicated world of modern relationships. Opening this book is like setting a match to a handful of fireworks — lots of sparkles, heat, and energy.” — said Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author.
The Kiss Quotient had an initial print run of 100,000 copies. But after a month the book was in its fourth printing.
Helen's debut novel has won numerous awards such as Goodread's Romance Book of the Year, A Washington Post Book of the Year, An AmazonBook of the Year, Cosmopolitan's 33 Books to Get Excited About in 2018, Elle Best Summer Reads 2018, etc.
Before that, in 2016, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in line with what was previously known as Asperger’s Syndrome. The writer said that her journey was the inspiration for Stella, The Kiss Quotient's autistic heroine.
In the interview with Broadway World, Helen Hoang said that the novelist who has impacted her writing the most are Jayne Ann Krentz, Christine Feehan, Nalini Singh, Elizabeth Lowell, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Kresley Cole, Eloisa James, Julia Quinn, and Lisa Kleypas.
Helen Hoang currently lives in San Diego, California with her husband, two kids, and pet fish.
Photo credit: Adam Amengual
