Maggie Sefton is the author of the New York Times bestselling Knitting Mysteries. She was born and raised in northern Virginia, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English literature and journalism. While Sefton has worked as both a CPA and a real estate broker, she feels that neither of those endeavors compare to the challenge of creating worlds on paper. She is the mother of four grown daughters, currently scattered around the globe, and resides in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with two very demanding dogs.
Jane Jacobs (1916–2006) was a writer who for more than forty years championed innovative, community-based approaches to urban planning. Her 1961 treatise The Death and Life of Great American Cities became perhaps the most influential text about the inner workings and failings of cities, inspiring generations of planners and activists.