Shirley C. Menendez grew up in Staunton, Virginia, and graduated from Mary Baldwin College. She earned a master’s degree in library science from Drexel University. Before joining the administrative staff of Georgetown University, she was a librarian in the Prince George’s County Memorial Library System in Maryland and the Westchester Library System in New York. Shirley lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her husband, who is also a writer.