Theresa Schwegel was born and raised in the Chicago area where she received her Bachelors in Communication, Magna Cum Laude, from Loyola University. During her undergraduate studies, she interned for an independent commercial production company, which sparked her interest in all things Hollywood. In 1998, she moved to Southern California and soon after pursued her Masters in Film/Screenwriting at Chapman University.

While working on her degree, Ms. Schwegel also co-founded a small theater company. She wrote, produced, directed and acted in a number of shows, her favorites always David Mamet's. During this time she also covered scripts for an Academy Award-winning production company.

In 2002, under the guidance of her teacher and mentor Leonard Schrader, she began rewriting her thesis screenplay Officer Down as a novel. Three years later, Officer Down was published by St. Martin's Minotaur and went on to win the 2005 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel. Probable Cause, her second book, was a New York Times Editor's Choice in January 2007.

Before her books were published, Ms. Schwegel worked as a personal trainer, a director's assistant, a freelance writer and a bartender. Today she writes full time.