Livia J. Washburn has been a professional writer for more than thirty years. She received the Private Eye Writers of America Award and the American Mystery Award for her first mystery, Wild Night, written under the name L. J. Washburn, and she was nominated for a Spur Award by the Western Writers of America for a novel written with her husband, James Reasoner. Her short story "Panhandle Freight" and "Widelooping a Christmas Cowboy" were nominated for a Peacemaker Award by the Western Fictioneers, and her story "Charlie's Pie" won. She lives with her husband in a small Texas town, where she is constantly experimenting with new recipes. Her two grown daughters are both teachers in her hometown, and she is very proud of them.