Julie Wray (in Southern it's pronounced Jewl-e-Rae, with the accent on the first syllable) is the writer of the Dirty Women Gardening mystery series. As a little girl, she was frequently told that she had an over-active imagination. She never has understood why people said this like it was a criticism.

After getting an education in nursing and working ICU for several years, Julie Wray finally followed her dream of becoming a writer. Drawing on her first fledgling career -- Nannying -- she put pen to paper and wrote her first book.

While in the process of writing her second book, Julie Wray Got a Good Idea. She and two other friends were re-doing the front flower beds in the front yard, discussing lots of things in general and people who bothered them in particular. One of the women looked at her earth encrusted hands and said, "We're just a bunch of Dirty Women!" What writer could refuse a line like that? Fortunately, the editor at the Silver Dagger division of the Overmountain Press felt the same way, and "Three Dirty Women and the Garden of Death" was born.

Julie Wray currently lives on a small farm outside Houston, Texas with her long-suffering husband, well-behaved children, one dog, three cats, two horses, and the creature who lurks in the pond. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She graduates in May from the Texas Master Gardener class, and looks forward to knowing what she is doing in her own garden.