Dixie Browning
Dixie Browning, née Burrus (born September 9, 1930 in North Carolina) is an American artist and writer of over 100 romance novels. She also has published under the pen name Zoe Dozier, and with her sister Mary Burrus Williams, she writes historical romance under the name Bronwyn Williams. She is a recipient of the RITA Award. Biography. Dixie Burrus was born in 1930 on North Carolina's Outer Banks, daughter of professional baseball played Maurice Lennon "Dick" Burrus. She learned from a young age to enjoy the water and the outdoors, and to spend plenty of time lying  down with a good book as well. Browning considers herself foremost an artist. She studied and later taught art. She paints landscapes and seascapes in watercolor, and is listed in "Who's Who in American Art". In 1975, Browning began writing a newspaper column on art. Shortly thereafter, she decided to try fiction. As she had recently begun reading romance novels, she attempted to recreate the pieces of the genre that appealed to her. This tactic worked, as in 1976, Avalon published her first two romances. She has since published over 100 category romance novels. She has been awarded a  Romance Writers of America RITA Award, and been a five-time RITA finalist. She has also won three Maggies, and numerous awards from the National Federation of Press Women and the NC Press Club. At the end of 2004, after Browning had submitted yet another manuscript, she realized that writing was not as exciting for her as it had been. She began painting again, and now concentrates primarily on her art. Browning cofounded and served as the first president of The Watercolor Society of North Carolina. She is also a co-owner of Browning Artworks in Frisco, North Carolina, which  features her own work as well as that of her son and daughter-in-law. Browning lives in North Carolina with her husband of over fifty years.