From an early age, Bonnie Oldre loved books. One of her most prized childhood possessions was a library card. She spent many summer hours in the library, happily turning pages with fingers wrinkled by time spent in the adjacent city swimming pool. While reading, she was transported to a whole new world of adventure and information. She was interested in everything.

Some of her favorites included the Hardy Boys and Sherlock Holmes stories, and later, Agatha Christie’s novels. That love of the mystery story, and the nostalgia for those by-gone days, infuses the cozy historical mysteries that she writes. They feature Beth Williams, a library assistant in her fictional hometown, Davison City, located in northwestern Minnesota. Beth has a knack for stumbling into mysteries that she solves with the help of her best friend, Evie.

She also enjoys research and history. These interests contributed to her short stories and historical novels. Researching World War II in Czechoslovakia led to writing historical novels, soon to be published, set in that time and place.

She recalls a poem published in her high-school student anthology as her first publishing credit. She didn’t save a copy—saying it is probably just as well—but it sparked a passion for writing. After earning a degree in English Literature from the University of Minnesota, her first publishing-related job was copy-editing church bulletins in the morning and driving a van all over the metro area delivering them in the afternoon. She also volunteered as a writer and editor for her neighborhood newspaper, The Powderhorn Horn, and even sold a couple of short stories to romance magazines.

But, earning a living and raising a family took precedence. So, she went back to graduate school, earned an MLIS, and spent the next couple of decades working as a librarian. But, the desire to write never diminished and ultimately propelled her to take writing classes at the Loft Literary Center and the University of Minnesota. Including the year-long Novel Writing Project, taught by the author, Peter Geye.

A life-long Minnesota resident, Bonnie and her husband have two grown sons and a tribe of grandchildren. They, and their pet cat, Chocolate, live in Minneapolis.