Miriam lives in western New York State, the scene of her critically acclaimed Seneca Falls Series. She is an American historian and a former librarian. Her first novel, Seneca Falls Inheritance, Agatha-nominated for Best First Mystery Novel 1992, is set against the backdrop of the first Women's Rights Convention held in 1848. Since then she has written eighth more novels that focus on the history of America and the evolution of women and minority rights. Monfredo's seventh book, Sisters of Cain (2000), is the first volume of a Civil War trilogy set in Washington D.C. and Virginia, during the Union's failed 1862 Peninsula Campaign. Her eighth book, Brothers of Cain (2001) is the most recent release. Forthcoming is Children of Cain (Fall 2002). The title of her lecture is “Stalking the Mysteries of Hidden History.”