About the Author

Born Mary Jane Roberts in the very heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, the writer was one of the youngest of a family of nine siblings. The large family forms the basis for some of her characters, especially Sam Thaxton, Salome's twin brother, created to fill the void left by the death of her own twin brother.

An early interest in music and amateur dramatics blossomed into a desire to teach after her marriage and the birth of a daughter and two sons. Only then did she begin taking college courses. As Mary Jane Kohn, she completed her first degree at Kutztown University in 1974, and a Masters at Lehigh University two years later. She returned to Roberts, her maiden name after the death of her husband, adding Agatha as her life took on new focus.

While her main characters, the Corrigibles, are drawn from her class of troubled adolescents, Salome's offspring are loosely based on the writer's own children.

After teaching college classes in St. Louis, she was named Learning Disability consultant at the University of Northern Iowa, where her interest in adults with learning disabilities inspired her doctoral dissertation on identifying that population.

The loss of her vision in 1988 caused her to turn from teaching to writing, and it was then she began her mystery series.

Throughout her life she has written more than a hundred poems and one other novel.

Currently she resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with her daughter and son-in-law.