Fran McNabb grew up along the beaches and islands of the Gulf Coast. After spending the first years of marriage in Germany, she and her husband returned to the coastline to raise their two sons.

Fran earned both her B.S. and her M.E. in English from the University of Southern Mississippi, whose football team dominates her family's life in the fall. After an early retirement from teaching English and journalism, she now spends her time reading, writing, and enjoying the quiet bayou harbor where she and her husband live.