C.D. Gerard was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, and grew up in  Southern California. She has a Master’s Degree in literature from  California State University, Bakersfield. She has taught composition and literature in colleges throughout California and Minnesota, where she  currently resides.  She has been married to her husband, Tony, for 19  years, and has two children, Jared, 24, and Mishayla Rose, 13. “Because  You’re the First” is her first novel.