Joanne Fluke was born in Swanville, Minnesota in 1943. While pursuing her writing career, she worked as a public school teacher, a psychologist, a musician, a private detective's assistant, a secretary, a short order cook, a florist's assistant, a caterer and party planner, a computer consultant, a production assistant on a TV quiz show, and half of a screenwriting team with her husband. She writes the Hannah Swensen Mystery series which includes original family recipes for baking. Her other works include The Stepchild, Vengeance Is Mine, Video Kill, Dead Giveaway, and Deadly Memories. In 2014, her title Blackberry Pie Murder made The New York Times Best Seller List.