Doris Schneider Durbin was born in Plant City, Florida, and lived for a time in eastern North Carolina. She moved with her husband Ed and their family to the mountains of northern Georgia in 1983. There she became acquainted with local people who told stories about the "old days" in the mountains and traveling by wagon across the mountains by way of the Logan Turnpike. More recently, Doris and Ed served on a history committee at the First Baptist Church of Blairsville when that group created a church history book. She especially enjoyed learning the stories of the early pastors, who were interesting, surprisingly well-educated characters, and she could imagine the difficulty of their work in the isolated mountain region of the time. Out of these thoughts and additional research, she created her character, Captain Harry Richardson, a former soldier and a new preacher, who travels to Choestoe to begin his ministry there in 1875. His skills as a soldier help him solve some mysteries along the way.

Doris and Ed still live in North Georgia, where they both taught in the local school system until they retired. Ed taught history, and Doris was a high school librarian who sponsored a writer’s club and produced a literary magazine for many years. Now that she has retired, she has time to devote to her grandchildren and to her many interests, which include painting, spinning wool, knitting, and a new career as a writer.