Karen Kingsbury is a renowned American Christian novelist born on June 8, 1963, in Fairfax, Virginia. Before becoming a full-time author, she worked as a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times and later for the Los Angeles Daily News. Her first book, Missy's Murder (1991), was inspired by a murder story she covered in Los Angeles. During this time, she also had an article published in People Magazine.

Kingsbury has penned or co-written nearly 100 novels or short stories, and has over 13 million copies of her works in print as of 2008. She is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist, with her last dozen books topping the bestseller lists. Some of her novels have been adapted into movies by The Hallmark Channel, including The Bridge, A Time to Dance (2015), and Maggie's Christmas Miracle (2017). Her Baxter Family series was also adapted into a television series, with Lightworkers Media and Roma Downey holding the rights to develop it further.

In addition to writing, Kingsbury engages in public speaking and reaches more than 100,000 people annually through national events. She is also an adjunct professor of writing at Liberty University. In 2001, she and her husband, Don, adopted three boys from Haiti, doubling their family within months. Now, the couple resides in Tennessee, near five of their adult children, enjoying life as empty nesters.