Born in Omaha, Nebraska, and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Gayle Lynds graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in journalism and a minor in social studies. She was a reporter for the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, editor-in-chief of Santa Barbara magazine in California, and an editor with top-secret security clearance at General Electric-TEMPO, a large, private-industry think tank in Santa Barbara, with clients around the world, including the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. military. A member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, she is co-founder and co-president of International Thriller Writers, Inc.