Mary Stone lives among the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains of East Tennessee with her two dogs, four cats, a couple of energetic boys, and a very patient husband.

As a young girl, she would go to bed every night, wondering what type of creature might be lurking underneath. But instead of asking her parents to look for her, Mary looked herself. Scared, sure, but she just needed to know. Needed to see with her own eyes. It wasn’t until she was older that she learned that the creatures she needed to most fear were human.

Mary has always adored puzzles of any kind and could often be found sitting in a corner with a pencil scrunched tightly in her hand, an open puzzle book on her lap. This isn't to say she's a loner. Quite the contrary, Mary has always been a leader taking her friends on many exciting adventures to hunt down and capture an assortment of bad guys pulled from her imagination.

Today, instead of walking that imaginary beat, she now creates vivid stories with courageous, strong heroines and dastardly villains. She invites you to enter her world of serial killers, FBI agents but never damsels in distress. Her female characters can handle themselves, going toe-to-toe with any male character, protagonist or antagonist.

Come on, open a book. Mary dares you to look under the bed with her.