Barb Warner Deane grew up in the beautiful Finger Lakes area of New York. She graduated from Cornell University and the University of Connecticut School of law. Barb, her husband, and three daughters have lived in the Chicago area for the past twenty-five years, other than two years in Frankfurt, Germany and two years in Shanghai, China. After giving up the practice of law, Barb has worked mostly as a mom, but also as a paralegal, bookstore owner, travel writer, IT specialist, and avid volunteer: for Girl Scouts, the American Women's Club, and as President of the Windy City Chapter of Romance Writers of America. In addition to writing, Barb is a genealogy and WWII buff, loves to read, is a huge fan of The Big Bang Theory and Harry Potter, and is crazy for both U.S. and international travel. Now that she and her husband are empty-nesters, she's making plans to expand on her list of having visited 47 states and 42 countries on 6 continents.