Carrie Papa lives, studies, and writes in Bridgewater, New Jersey. Her avid interest in people and their history began when she earned a degree in history from Rutgers University, but was cultivated during her thirty years of living in foreign countries with her husband who was on assignment with the US Diplomat Corps. When the Papas retired to New Jersey, Carrie became involved with the efforts of a local historical society to preserve a two-centuries-old one-room schoolhouse and establish a museum. While serving as founding director for the Old Monroe School Museum, Carrie received awards from the New Jersey Historical Society and the National Association for State and Local History for the museum's interpretative programs.