The author has a BA in English from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA, a master's degree in social work and another in public administration. She worked for the U.S. Department of Justice for many years, but it was her literary background that enabled her to fold in elements of Hawthorne, Upton Sinclair, even Bunyan and Huxley into one story. She has an intimate knowledge of church affairs and a love of mysteries as well as Biblical knowledge. She has worked in mental institutions, Indian reservations and the government. She prefers the first two places. Cynthia Darling recei...