Lydia Emma Niebuhr has undergraduate degrees in both Chemistry and Biology and a graduate degree in Chemistry. She began her career in medical research at the University of Minnesota, later transferring to the Hormel Institute, and then onto Hormel Foods Corporation in their Research and Development Department. Although Lydia Emma wrote during those years, she didn’t become a full-time writer until 2010.

Lydia Emma lives on a farm near Corning, MN. In addition to her husband Dean, her family includes three children, their spouses, and eight grandchildren.