Janet Morris Belvin was born in Gaffney, South Carolina and raised in Savannah, Georgia. A former teacher and writer for magazines and newspapers, she is the author of her memoir Southern Stories from the Porch Swing and three novels The Refuge, The Bookshop on Beach Road and her newest book - Sycamore Hill. With her husband Paul, she enjoys traveling, having toured the battlefields of Normandy as well as World War II sites in London and Portsmouth, England. Her favorite thing to do is to spend time with her six children and nine grandchildren. She enjoys reading, quilting, horseback riding and telling stories.