David Elliot Pedneau was born in Princeton, West Virginia. He was an author, reporter, columnist, and magistrate court judge. He also wrote two horror novels: How Dear the Dawn (1987; as Marc Eliot) and Night, Winter, and Death (1990; as Lee Hawks). He is the creator of 'Whit Pynchon and Anna Tyree', a special investigator for the D.A.'s office and a crime reporter in Virginia.