Anita Hughes was born in Sydney, Australia and had a charmed childhood that included petting koala bears, riding the waves on Bondi Beach, and putting an occasional shrimp on the barbie. Her writing career began at the age of eight, when she won a national writing contest in THE AUSTRALIAN newspaper, and was named "One of Australia's Next Best Writers." (She still has the newspaper clipping.)

She received a B.A. in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College, and attended UC Berkeley's Masters in Creative Writing program.

Her debut novel MONARCH BEACH was released in June 2012, followed by MARKET STREET and LAKE COMO in 2013. FRENCH COAST and ROME IN LOVE were released in 2015.

ISLAND IN THE SEA: A MAJORCA LOVE STORY and SANTORINI SUNSETS and her first holiday novel, CHRISTMAS IN PARIS, were released in 2016.

WHITE SAND, BLUE SEA: A ST BARTS LOVE STORY, EMERALD COAST and CHRISTMAS IN LONDON were realeased in 2017. CALIFORNIA SUMMER and CHRISTMAS AT THE CHALET were released in 2018. Her recent Christmas books include, CHRISTMAS IN VERMONT, A MAGICAL NEW YORK CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS ON THE RANCH and CHRISTMAS AT THE LAKE.

ROME IN LOVE is now a Hallmark movie! CHRISTMAS IN VERMONT is now a LIFETIME movie!

She lives in Dana Point, CA with her family, where she interrupts her writing to watch the glorious sunsets.