Frances Patton Statham—award-winning author, musician, artist, and lecturer—graduated magna cum laude from Winthrop University with a double major in voice performance and music education. She received her master of fine arts degree from the University of Georgia, and an honorary doctorate from World University. Selected as Georgia Author of the Year in Fiction on three separate occasions, Statham has written fourteen novels, one nonfiction book—Mountain Legacy—and numerous magazine articles. She is listed in various biographical reference books such as International Authors and Writers Who’s Who, World Who’s Who of Women, and Personalities of the South.