The Gamble

LaVyrle Spencer is a contemporary and historical romance novelist who has written twelve New York Times bestsellers. Whether set in the Old West or in present day suburban Minnesota, a Spencer novel means seeing love in a new light and meeting characters so real it's all you can do not to climb into the pages yourself. Several of Spencer's books have been made into movies (Publishers Weekly called one of her television deals "precedent-setting") and in 1988 she was inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. She lives with her husband, Dan, in North Oaks, Minnesota.

Emily Sutton-Smith is a professional actress and one of the cofounders of an Equity theater in central Michigan. Her stage credits include Out of Orbit; Doublewide; Summer Retreat; Too Much, Too Much, Too Many; Miracle on South Division Street; End Days; The Usual: A Musical Love Story; The Smell of the Kill; The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds; Maidens, Mothers and Crones; and Additional Particulars. A New York City native, she has worked onstage at almost all the Equity theaters in Michigan, including the Williamston Theatre, the Purple Rose Theatre, Performance Network Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, the Detroit Rep, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre, and MeadowBrook Theatre. Emily is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association and SAG/AFTRA. Her film and TV credits include The Funeral Guest, Gifted Hands, Butterfly Effect: Revelation, The Prince of Motor City, and Nevermore. Emily studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Company in New York City, and holds a Grande Diploma in Pastry Arts from the French Culinary Institute. She received her Master of Fine Arts degree from Michigan State University.