Zanetti earned a B.A. in journalism from Pepperdine University, with a Political Science emphasis. At Pepperdine, she was the editor-in-chief of The Graphic newspaper and interned for former President Ronald Reagan. She was also a member of the Pi Phi Sorority. After graduation, she was an art curator and an aide for U.S. Senator Dirk Kempthorne. She entered law school and earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho. She was admitted to the Idaho State Bar Association in 1999 and worked for both large and small firms. In 2010, she ended her contract as hearing examiner for Kootenai County, Idaho to temporarily concentrate on writing and family. After that, she taught law, but quit in November 2013 to write full-time. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, children, and extended family. Zanetti is a member of Novelist's Inc. and the International Thriller Writer's organization. She is a former member of the Idaho State Bar Association, Board member of Wisdomworks, Board member of CASA, and Board Member of the Women's Center.
Writing career
Zanetti started writing in December 2009 during a blizzard in Northern Idaho Her first finished romance was a paranormal YA, then she wrote a chick lit and then a vampire romance, Fated. A year later, Zanetti sent out queries for Fated and within five days had offers from Kensington and Caitlin Blasdell with Liza Dawson Associates. Fated was released in March 2011 from Kensington Brava as book one in the Dark Protectorate series. Book five in the series, Provoked, was the first of her books to hit the USA Today Bestseller List. Subsequent books in the series, Shadowed and Tamed, also hit the list, with Marked making the New York Times Bestseller list. Two books in this series, Consumed and Shadowed, were later included in the Lyrical Press-Books-A-Million High Notes program Books A Million Zanetti's Sin Brothers Series was published by Grand Central Forever in 2013. Forgotten Sins, Sweet Revenge, and Blind Faith, were all Top Pick Reviews at RT Book Reviews, with Blind Faith and Total Surrender hitting the USA Today bestseller list. Also in 2013, Zanetti signed a four-book deal with Entangled Publishing for its Brazen Line. The third book, Rising Assets, was the first of her books to hit the New York Times bestseller list. The fourth book, Over the Top, released in July 2015. In 2014, Zanetti signed two new contracts with Kensington Publishing. The first, a four book Dark Protector spinoff called the Realm Enforcers, was first released digitally, including Wicked Ride on June 23, 2015, followed by Wicked Edge and Wicked Burn.
The other contract was for a three book series called the Scorpius Syndrome for the Kensington Zebra mass market imprint. Scorpius Rising, a prequel novella, was released in August 2015 in the On the Hunt anthology also featuring Alexandra Ivy, Dianne Duvall, and Hannah Jayne. The first book, Mercury Striking, was published in February 2016, with Shadow Falling scheduled for an August 30, 2016 release and the third book, Justice Ascending, in January 2017. Zanetti is also part of the 1001 Dark Nights coalition, with the Dark Protector’s novellas Teased, Tricked and Tangled.
On writing
In an interview, she discussed how her career as a lawyer affected her writing: "...law is about boiling a lot of facts down to one main theme and articulating that theme to other people. Writing is much the same. And believe it or not, your voice as a lawyer is similar to your voice as a writer – it’s all you. Also, both worlds are competitive and a bit scary but well worth it."
Reception
Rising Assets, Marked, and Total Surrender have hit the New York Times Bestseller list.
Blind Faith, Provoked, Shadowed, Tamed, Rising Assets, Total Surrender, Wicked Ride, Wicked Edge, and Wicked Burn have hit the USA Today Bestseller list.
Forgotten Sins, Sweet Revenge, Total Surrender, Blind Faith, Marked, Wicked Edge, and Wicked Burn have all been 4.5 stars, Top Picks from RT Book Reviews.
