Cricket McRae is a well-known author who has made a name for herself in the mystery genre. She has used several pseudonyms, including Bailey Cates and Baily Cattrell, to publish her works. McRae has a real passion for home crafts, which is evident in her writing. She has written the Sophie Mae Reynolds Homecrafting Mystery Series, which features a soap maker with a knack for investigation. Some of the home crafts that McRae enjoys include food preservation, cheese making, candle making, and fiber arts. Her experiences with managing her own soap making business for two years have provided valuable insights that she incorporates into her writing.
Born in Wyoming, Cricket McRae grew up in the West and earned degrees in philosophy and English from Colorado State University. She spent twenty years in the Pacific Northwest, where her Home Crafting Mysteries are set. However, she has since moved to Colorado, where she currently resides with her partner and two cats. McRae has always been fascinated by the crafts that were once necessary for pioneers and colonial Americans to survive. She enjoys the chemistry of soap making, as well as the process of stocking the winter larder with garden produce and fiber crafts like spinning and knitting.