Kay Hooper was born in California on October 30, 1957, and was raised in North Carolina. Her first book, Lady Thief, was published when she was 22-years-old, and she has since written more than 60 novels and four novellas. Hooper mainly writes novels that are in the romance and suspense genres. Her most popular series include The Men of Mysteries Past Series, The Once Upon a Time Series, and The Hagen Series. Her title Hostage made The New York Times Best Seller List in 2013.