Barbara Seranella was an American author known for her gripping crime novels. Growing up in Pacific Palisades, California, she ran away at 13 to San Francisco, joining a hippie commune and learning auto mechanics on the streets. Seranella later married Walter Haring and became a devoted mother to Michera Nicole Colella and Maryann Colella, raising both girls as her own. Drawing on her adventurous early life and sharp observations, she authored more than ten novels, including No Human Involved, No Offense Intended, and Deadman's Switch, blending crime, suspense, and realism. Seranella lived in La Quinta and Laguna Beach, California, and passed away in 2007 while awaiting a liver transplant.