Ramona L. Richardson (Vallee) was born in December of 1948 in Cedar Falls, Iowa to George and Eleanor Richardson. She had a wonderful childhood in small town America. In her teens she enjoyed reading, writing, and learning French in school. Later discouraged by a college counselor who told her that writing was an overcrowded field, she decided to quit college. After working as a waitress, she saved enough money to go to beauty school and became a hairdresser. She met her husband Fred of 42 years, on a blind date. He was French Canadian which intrigued her. They had three children.Long ago she made a promise to her dad on his deathbed to finish the Civil War novel he started. Many years later, she's finally able to fulfill her promise after writing Expression of Honor, and feels at peace now.