Aspiring authors are told "write what you know," but Darlene Marshall has to admit, she's never been a pirate. However, Marshall is a semi-native of North Florida and loves Florida history and the area the locals call "the other Florida"—a land of rolling hills, along with giant cockroaches, fire ants, scorpions, lightning strikes, the occasional hurricane, and frog-drowning rainstorms. Only the strong (and the air-conditioned) survive.

Marshall is an alumna of the University of Florida (Go Gators!) and is the retired owner of a rock radio station. She's been a reporter and editor in television, radio and print, and worked at a drug treatment center, doing education and prevention. She loves science fiction, fantasy and romance, and tries to attend the World SF Convention each year. She's been married for 30 years to a wonderful man who dances, brings her roses every week, and can tie a cherry stem in a knot with his tongue. They have two children who are both embarrassed and proud that their mom writes romance.

She also has a crazed dachshund who listens patiently while Marshall reads passages aloud, but doesn't have much to offer in the way of constructive criticism.