Sharon L. Dean grew up in Massachusetts where she was immersed in the literature of New England. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at the University of New Hampshire, a state she lived and taught in before moving to Oregon. Although she has given up writing scholarly books that require footnotes, she incorporates much of her academic research as background in her mysteries, and continues to write and research in the landscape she's still discovering in the Northwest.She is also the author of the prequel to Finding Freedom which is entitled Leaving Freedom, reissued by Encircle Publications in June 2023. Sharon's mystery series featuring librarian and reluctant sleuth Deborah Strong includes The Barn (Encircle, 2020), The Wicked Bible (Encircle, 2021), and Calderwood Cove (Encircle, 2022). Her highly-acclaimed collection, Six Old Women and Other Stories, was published by Encircle in December of 2022. You can learn more at sharonldean.com, and follow Sharon L. Dean, Author, on Facebook, and @sharonldean3 on Instagram.