Laura Belgrave was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She was an author, editor and a Vietnam-era veteran of the USAF (70-74) and one of the first females to fly in an F-4 fighter jet. After leaving the USAF, she moved to Florida and started work as a police reporter and worked her way up to city editor. She is the creator of 'Claudia Hershey', a homicide detective in Florida.