Coordinates: 47°00′N 25°30′E / 47°N 25.5°E / 47; 25.5

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains, 1,700 km (1,056 mi)). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania, as well as over one third of all European plant species. The Carpathians and their piedmont also concentrate many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania home to over one-third of the European total. Romania is likewise home to the largest surface of virgin forests in Europe (except Russia), totaling 250,000 hectares (65%), most of them in the Carpathians, with the Southern Carpathians constituting Europe’s largest unfragmented forested area.

The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south. The highest range within the Carpathians is the Tatras, on the border of Poland and Slovakia, where the highest peaks exceed 2,600 m (8,530 ft). The second-highest range is the Eastern Carpathians in Romania, where the highest peaks exceed 2,500 m (8,202 ft).

Christine Feehan (b. Christine King in California, USA) is an American romance-paranormal writer. She has published more than 26 novels, including five series, and numerous novellas since 1999.

Christine King was born in California. She grew up with three brothers and ten sisters. She spent a lot of time getting in trouble at school for writing instead of doing the things she was supposed to do. Later she forced her ten sisters to read every word. She is married to Richard Feehan, together they have 11 children (each had children from previous marriages). Today, her daughters read and help her edit her manuscripts.

Feehan has over 45 novels published and is a #1 New York Times bestselling author. Her debut novel, Dark Prince, published in 1999 won three Paranormal Excellence Awards for Romantic Literature (PEARL) for that year. Since then she has won seven more PEARL awards and has been on numerous bestsellers list including those of Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and The New York Times. Feehan has also received a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times and been nominated for a RITA award from the Romance Writers of America.