Emilie Khair is the author of the biographies, Passion's Piano: The Eddie Heywood Story, and Beautiful Puzzle, and the children's book, Kudzu for Christmas. She is also the writer, director and producer of Absent Mind, a short film. An avid writer, she loves to experiment with different genres. Ignoring Alva is her first novel.

Emilie has undergraduate degrees in Theatre Arts and English Education from the University of Minnesota, a Master's degree in Special Education from the University of West Georgia, and her doctorate in Sociology from Georgia State University. She has two sons and lives in McDonough with her husband of 29 years. While Emilie's roots are in Minnesota, her southern experiences are an inspiration to her writing.