Following her mother’s lead, Mississippi native Winnie Simpson was an avid murder mystery reader beginning in the third grade, starting with Nancy Drew and moving through the classics of British, American and international crime.

Winnie studied music at Duke University, later receiving an MFA in Music at SUNY Buffalo, where she worked as an arts administrator before throwing it all over in order to make a decent living. After finishing law school at Emory University, she became a partner in a large firm in Atlanta where her practice focused mainly on securities litigation. Retiring early, Winnie relocated to Northern Michigan where she lives in a renovated nineteenth century building that served as a former Michigan State Asylum, an address considered appropriate by her friends. For more than a decade, she has taken writing classes and participated in writing groups.

She is fond of opera, hiking, cycling, and Duke basketball, most seasons. Winnie is currently working on the second book in the Ann Audrey series, Death with Sweet Tea.