Carolyn Hilliard

Carolyn Hilliard grew up in Rock Hill, MO, a suburb of St. Louis. As a child she always thought she would be a cast member of Saturday Night Live. She was a constant goof, doing impressions and performing skits with her siblings. Her teen years weren't so light hearted. She was a surly cuss, making life difficult for herself and her family. Eventually she chilled out, completed a B.A. in English and had two gorgeous kids with her first husband. In 2009, she participated in National Novel Writing Month and cranked out a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days, Girl Meats Boy. It is still in the editing phase. But the experience was an empowering one.

In 2013, her first marriage ended amicably and with 100% devotion to successful co-parenting. She found love again with an old friend with whom she has a beautiful son and who she eventually married in 2019. Life is good.

Professionally, Carolyn spent time as an administrative assistant at an insurance company, a cake decorator, a jeans salesperson and a legal assistant. In 2020, she decided to plan the next 20 years of her life by writing a book a year and thus, main character, Vanessa VanDuyn was born.

Carolyn currently resides in Chesterfield with her husband, three children, two cats and a dog. When she is not writing a Vanessa VanDuyn mystery, she is at the gym or smoking meat, preferably brisket.