Brown has also published works under the pen names of Rachel Ryan, Laura Jordan, and Erin St. Claire.

Sandra Brown was born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth.

She majored in English at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, but left college in 1968 to marry.

After her marriage, Brown worked for KLTV in Tyler as a weathercaster, then returned to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex area where she became a reporter for WFAA-TV's version of PM Magazine.

[2] In 2008, she was presented with an honorary doctorate of humane letters from her alma mater, TCU.