In college, Nikki Vilendrer used daydreaming as a means of escape from many pre-med lectures and labs. Switching from biology and medicine to civics and senate, Nikki eventually found herself in the land of 10,000 lakes—back at home—where she completed her master's in public policy, worked in the Minnesota State Senate, and started writing Power Play—as a means of winding down.

An avid sports fan and policy-wonk, Nikki fuses her love of hockey and the legislature to tell the fictional romance between her characters Dani and Luke. Having grown up skating on many of the outdoor ice rinks lining St. Paul’s East Side, Nikki knew that her home state of Minnesota would be the perfect setting for her first novel.

Nowadays, Nikki still daydreams, but as a means for capturing moments for her next novels and not as a way to avoid pre-med lectures. She still gets her legislative fix by working in government relations; gets to witness true romance via the new brides that come into the bridal shop she works at on weekends; and tries to find any excuse to put on her tap shoes to spark her creativity and keep those writing deadline stressors at bay.