Lila Dare is the well-respected author of the Southern Beauty Shop mystery series. Dare was born in Georgia and has lived in Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia, as well as some bastions of Yankee culture. Although Dare has never worked as a hair stylist, she spends plenty of time in salons. She currently lives west of the Mississippi with her husband, two daughters and dog, and misses Southern manners and cooking, but not the humidity.