Helen Nielsen was born in Roseville, Illinois, on October 23, 1918, and studied journalism, art and aeronautical drafting at various schools, including the Chicago Art Institute. Before her writing career, she worked as a draftsman during World War II and contributed to the designs of various aircraft. She wrote 18 novels and nearly 50 short stories—mostly for Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine—also writing scripts for such television dramas as Perry Mason and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Her stories were often set in Laguna Beach and Oceanside, California where she lived for 60 years before retiring in Arizona, passing away in Prescott on June 22, 2002.