Tess Collins is a coal miner's granddaughter with Cherokee ancestry on her mother's side and a legend of being descended from a mountain clan known as the Seven Big Sisters on her father's. Raised in the southeastern Kentucky town of Middlesboro, she spent her early years listening to mountain tales of haunted hollows, ghosts, moonshiners and unsolved murders. No doubt they influenced her writing. She is a member of the Authors Guild, Dramatists Guild, Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Miss Collins received a B.A. from the University of Kentucky and a Ph.D. from The Union Institute and University.

Photo of Tess by Lisa Keating