Novelist and journalist Kathy Trocheck was born in St. Petersburg, Florida and graduated from the University of Georgia. She worked in the newspaper industry for years before turning to writing fiction full time. She has created two characters, Callahan Garrity (a private eye and former police detective) and Truamn Kicklighter (a retired newspaper reporter), who are both featured in their own series of books. The second Garrity novel, To Live and Die in Dixie, was nominated for Agatha, Anthony and Macavity Awards.