Edwards was born in
Great Lakes, Illinois, near
North Chicago, December 17, 1952. She graduated with a BA from
Scripps College in
classics and an MA in education from
Claremont Graduate University, after which she worked in Germany, Greece,
California,
Texas, and
Nevada, as a teacher and also a school principal. She was also a columnist (1993–1998) for the
Pasadena Weekly and a contributing writer (2000–2001) for the
Las Vegas Weekly. On October 27, 1993, the house where she and her husband lived in California burned down in a wildfire, destroying nearly all their possessions. Instead of rebuilding, they bought a custom motorhome, named it "Phoenix One" and began a
road trip that lasted six years. During this time, the couple pioneered the (then difficult) art of connecting to the
internet while traveling. One result was "RoadTrip America", a web resource started in 1996 for touring in
North America. The first four years of her adventures in Phoenix One are recorded in the book
Roads from the Ashes. In general, the book was well received. In 2008, a collection titled
Caution: Funny Signs Ahead was published. The book contains pictures of actual signs that are humorous due to
juxtapositions, misspellings,
double entendres, etc., and which were originally published online at RoadTripAmerica.com. In 2010, Edwards contributed a short story to
The Perpetual Engine of Hope, an anthology featuring stories written by seven Las Vegas writers. She became a contributing writer for
Nevada Public Radio's Desert Companion magazine in 2012. In 2014, Edwards contributed a short essay to
Nevada: 150 Years in the Silver State from
Geoff Schumacher (editor) with Stephens Press. In 2017, Edwards debut novel, titled
Getting off on Frank Sinatra: A Copper Black Mystery, was published by Imbrifex Books in March 2017. In general, the book was well received. In 2018 Edwards's novel
Getting off on Frank Sinatra was the Gold winner of the
Benjamin Franklin Award for Best First Novel. It was also a Bronze winner for the 2017 Foreword INDIES and a finalist in the
Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Her novel
Strings was a Gold winner for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Romance, and it also received Honorable Mentions in the 2017 Foreword INDIES, as well as the Reviewers Choice Award for Romance, Music & Arts.
Full Service Blonde was the 2017 INDIES Honorable Mention winner for Mystery. Edwards's novel
Full Service Blonde was the Gold winner for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Mystery. Edwards is a 2023 Silver Pen Awardee. == Publications ==