Susan Spaeth Kyle was born on December 11, 1946 in Cuthbert, Georgia. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, with minors in anthropology and Spanish, from Piedmont College in 1995. She worked as a newspaper reporter and columnist for 16 years. She writes romance novels under the pen name of Diana Palmer. Since 1979, she has written more than 100 novels as Diana Palmer including Heather's Song, The Patient Nurse, The Morcai Battalion, and Protector. She has won several awards including a Lifetime Achievement Award from Romantic Times. She has also written under several other pen names including Diana Blayne, Katy Currie, and Susan Kyle.