A native Floridian, Gia de Cadenet dreamed of living in France when she was a child. In 2006, she put her a promising career on hold for two years to get a master’s degree in Paris. But a few short weeks after arriving, she bumped into a red-headed Frenchman and her fate was sealed.

A decade later, she got serious about her second big dream: becoming a published author. Her first manuscript, Not The Plan, was showcased in the 2017 PitchWars mentorship program. It went on to become a finalist in both the Maggie Award for Excellence Contest of the Georgia Romance Writers Association, and the Elevation of Love Contest of the Cultural, Interracial, Multicultural chapter of the Romance Writers of America Association. A Twitter pitch contest in 2018 led to a contract with Transatlantic Literary Agency, and a two-book deal with Penguin Random House in 2020.