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Dear Reader,

This month is a very special month for me—as well as this being my first ever sheikh book, it's also Harlequin's sixtieth birthday!

I'm thrilled to be part of the celebrations with Surrender to the Playboy Sheikh. Sixty years is an incredibly long time in publishing, and I'm so proud to be part of that history—especially as it's a milestone book for me, being my thirty-fifth!

I first discovered Harlequin when I was thirteen. I was always a bookworm and I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but it was reading Sara Craven's Harlequin Presents novel The Devil at Archangel that made me realize I wanted to be a romance writer. What I loved about the book was the sparkling characterization, the great dialogue, the way that love overcame all the obstacles…and, most of all, the happy ending.

Fast-forward thirty years, and those elements are still at the core of Harlequin's books. Although the issues writers raise have changed—we write contemporary books that reflect our times—the important bits of the romance are still there. A hero you can fall in love with, a heroine you'd like to be (or be her best friend, maybe!) and the fact that you might go through difficult times, but there's always going to be hope and happiness at the end.

A Harlequin novel is the perfect rainy-day read, because it puts a bit of sunshine and sparkle into life and a smile on my face. It's also the kind of book I enjoy writing, because I love being able to give my readers that same warmth and sparkle.

Happy birthday, Harlequin. And here's to many more!

With love,

Kate Hardy