Lori Copeland was born on June 12, 1941. She began writing for the secular book market in 1982 when she was 40 years old. She switched to the Christian book market in 1995. She has written over 100 books including A Morning Shade Mystery series, Men of the Saddle series, and Belles of Timber Creek series. She has won several awards including the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award, The Holt Medallion, and Walden Books' Best Seller award. She was inducted into the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame.