Valerie Wilson Wesley is the award-winning author of the Blackboard bestselling Tamara Hayle Mystery Series and the Odessa Jones Mysteries, as well as adult fiction, children's books, and paranormal romance novels written under the name Savanna Welles. She is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Excellence in Adult Fiction Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, the National Association of Black Journalists Griot Award, the Amigirls Book Club Author of the Year, and the Literary Beacon Award from the national Go On Girls Book Club. A former executive editor of Essence(R) Magazine and Sisters in Crime board member, she is an artist-in-residence at the Cicely Tyson School of Performing Arts in East Orange, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Howard University and holds master's degrees from the Bank Street College of Education and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She can be found online at ValerieWilsonWesley.com.
