Cynthia Cherry-Schiff was born and raised in Montana and attended the University of Montana. After studying at the Art Institute of Portland in Oregon, she moved to Chicago and, within four days, met her future husband at an advertising media event. She has balanced her 20-plus years in advertising writing with being a stay-at-home-mom of a son. Her varied activities include working as a real estate agent, teaching art to children, volunteering at Boys & Girls Clubs, participating in horse and animal rescue, and developing an all-natural coat deodorizer for dogs. Cherry-Schiff and her husband now live near Elgin, Illinois, in “horse country,” where she rides a couple of times a week or as living with ovarian cancer allows.