Anne Louise O'Connell grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia and has been an expat since 1993 when she escaped the cold of Canada on a hunt for warmer climes, with stops in Florida, Dubai and Thailand. In 2007, after almost 20 years in the PR business, O'Connell decided to focus on her real passion and just write. O'Connell is the author of @Home in Dubai... Getting Connected Online and on the Ground; 10 Steps to a Successful PR Campaign-A Do-it-Yourself Guide for Authors; and Mental Pause, her first novel (which won a bronze medal in the 2013 Independent Publisher Book Awards for best adult fiction). Her next novel, Deep Deceit, launches March 8, 2015.

O'Connell also mentors other authors, does developmental editing and assists others in developing their author platforms. She has edited a memoir titled The Family from Padma Vila by Padmini Sankar, a children's book called General Nutty and the Ink Pots by Pauline Oliver as well as workbooks in the Embers of the World series by Debbie Nicol. Along with being an author, O'Connell is a freelance writer and social media consultant. She is a contributing writer for Expat Focus and Global Living Magazine.