Eileen Watkins came to her fiction career from a long background in journalism, writing and editing articles on visual art, architecture, interior design and home improvement for two major daily newspapers. During that time, she interviewed artisans, designers and collectors, and acquired a taste for the type of quirky décor that fictional Vivian Joyce offers her customers. Early in her fiction career, Eileen published eight stand-alone mystery and suspense novels with Amber Quill Press, several of which won EPIC and Indie book awards. She went on to put out the Cat Groomer Mystery series with Kensington Publishing. All six books received Certificates of Excellence from the national Cat Writers' Association, and both Claw & Disorder and Night of the Were-Cat won that organization's MUSE Medallion for Mystery Fiction. Also a horse lover, Eileen published the women's fiction novel Reboot Ranch through FreedomChaser Books. She belongs to Mystery Writers of America and national Sisters in Crime, and serves as publicity officer for Sisters in Crime/Central Jersey, a.k.a. the Jersey Sleuths.