The full story

Terry grew up in Lake Jackson, on the Texas Gulf Coast, attending Brazosport High School, where her friends will not be surprised to learn that she was heavily involved in theater, acting and directing, and in the school chorus.

To finance her undergraduate years at the University of Texas in Austin, she worked as a secretary to a larger-than-life law professor, a waitress, and for two summers worked at Yellowstone National Park—some of the most fun she ever had.

After graduating from UT, she joined the CIA, where she trained at Langley, Virginia as a computer programmer/analyst. She worked in that field for the next several years, moving from Washington, D.C., to Denver, Colorado and eventually settling in San Francisco.

In 1986, she received an MA in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University

Having always wanted to be a published writer, in the early 2000s, she began writing mystery novels, and in 2013, her first novel was published. She now has more than a dozen published novels and numerous short stories.

Terry lives in Los Angeles (although her heart is still in Northern California), with her husband, her kitty Max the Cat, and her dog Monty. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and the Texas Institute of Letters.