Diane A. S. Stuckart is the award-winning author of the Leonardo da Vinci Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. Writing as Ali Brandon, she is the New York Times bestselling author of the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series, also from Berkley. She began her publishing career writing critically acclaimed historical romance for Pinnacle Books and Zebra Books under the names "Alexa Smart" and "Anna Gerard." A native Texan with a degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma, Diane now lives in South Florida, though she's still a Westerner at heart. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and the Cat Writers Association.