A former resident of the Pacific Northwest where her novels are set, Cricket McRae has always dabbled in the kind of practical home crafts that were once necessary to everyday life. The magical chemistry of making soap, the satisfaction of canning garden produce, and the sensuous side of fiber arts like spinning and knitting are just a few of the reasons these activities have fascinated her since childhood. As a girl she was as much a fan of Nancy Drew as of Laura Ingalls Wilder, so it's no surprise that her contemporary cozy series features a soap maker with a nose for investigation.

For two years Cricket managed her own soap making business, including all product design, manufacturing and marketing. She has also worked at a variety of other jobs, ranging from driver's license examiner to program manager at Microsoft. This fulfills her mother's warning that she'd never have a "regular" job if she insisted on studying philosophy and English in college.

Now she lives in Colorado, fitting her interest in all things domestic around writing, hiking, biking and, currently, learning how to hate the game of golf.

Something Borrowed, Something Bleu is in book stores now!

Want to make your own cheese? I'm giving away a copy of Ricki Carroll's Home Cheese Making and a basic hard cheese making kit on Hearth Cricket. There are lots of ways to enter the drawing!