Libby Fischer Hellmann has been writing all her life. She turned to fiction five years ago. Her amateur sleuth series, featuring video producer Ellie Foreman will debuted in 2002. "An Eye for Murder", the first in the series, was simultaneously published by Poisoned Pen Press (hard cover version in November) and Berkley Prime Crime (mass market version in December).

Libby has published half a dozen short stories in both American and British publications. "The Day Miriam Hirsch Disappeared" won several awards, including the 1999 Bouchercon Short Story contest, second place in the Karen Besecker Memorial Contest, and second place in Anthology Magazine's 2000 contest. "The Rainforest Messiah" was ranked one of the five best stories in 2000 on Mysterical-E.

When she's not writing fiction, Libby writes and produces videos. She also coaches individuals and groups in presentation skills, speech delivery, and media interviews. (Fischer Hellmann Communications.) Although she was born and raised in Washington, D.C., she's been living in the Chicago area over twenty years with her husband, two teen-agers, and a Beagle, shamelessly named Shiloh.