Davis was born in
Santa Clara, California, to a Jewish single mother who raised Davis with the help of family. She was named after Kira Argounova, the protagonist in
Ayn Rand's novel
We The Living. Her father was African-American and her mother was of Eastern European descent, giving Davis a mixed heritage. Davis attended the
Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and
Fashion Institute of Technology, during which time she met and married her first husband. Davis later attended the
Golden Gate University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in business and humanities. In 2001 Davis filed for divorce. Davis began writing the Sophie Katz series due to the stress resulting from the divorce and published her first novel through
Red Dress Ink in 2005. In 2013 Davis published the
Just One Night trilogy through Simon & Schuster's digital imprint. Davis lives in
Los Angeles,
California, with her son and her husband, director and screenwriter
Rod Lurie, who has two children from a prior relationship. She has two stepchildren from Rod, Paige and Hunter. ==Critical reception==