Growing up in Indiana, Lucy Zahnle wrote her first poem at age six, her first short story at nine, and her first novel at fourteen. When she was very young, Lucy wrote to show off for the teachers and to amuse her sister, but her parents divorced when she was fourteen and writing suddenly became an outlet for all the anger, grief, and fear that family upheaval engenders.

Lucy met and married her husband, attorney Vince Zahnle, while getting her bachelor's degree in English at Indiana University-Bloomington. After college, Lucy moved with Vince as he followed a career of military and federal service from Indiana to Tennessee, Iowa, Virginia, Georgia and New Jersey.

At present, Lucy is living in Missouri. with her husband and four children. Heavily involved in historical re-enactment, she and Vince also run a small business, The Vault of Valhalla, out of their home. They sell Viking, Celtic, and medieval jewelry, which Vince designs, hand-carves and hand-casts.

"I can't imagine not writing," Lucy says. "It's gotten me through the bad times and enhanced the good times. Writing is my therapy, my refuge, and my joy."