Jerrilyn Farmer grew up in Lincolnwood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago and attended Northern Illinois University, where she majored in Theatre and English.

She began acting in Chicago, and after moving to Los Angeles, she appeared in such plays as "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" at the Huntington Hartford Theatre. Her interest turned to writing puzzles when she moved into game show production. In a short time, she was writing many game series, including "Jeopardy!" Ms. Farmer's Lifetime Cable series, "Supermarket Sweep" (which is, incidentally, one of Madonna's favorite shows) received two CableAce awards.

In addition to her work on game shows, she wrote the "Marry Me!" interview specials starring Christina Ferrare for the Family Channel. For these shows, Jerrilyn interviewed such celebrities as Dennis Franz, Jane Seymour, Trisha Yearwood, Regis and Joy Philbin, Robert Urich, and Roma Downey about their love lives. Jerrilyn also wrote a one-hour live comedy special for Dana Carvey in 1997.

Turning her attention to fiction, she took a course at UCLA Extension taught by mystery author Melanie Johnson Howe. Thus armed with a few clues about this very popular genre, Ms. Farmer finished her first novel, "Sympathy for the Devil" which became a finalist in the "Malice Domestic" competition sponsored by St. Martin's Press, for the Best First Traditional Mystery. Soon after, Jerrilyn signed a three book deal with Avon Books, and has subsequently been invited to teach a writing course at UCLA.