Cheryl Peña was born with her twin sister in San Antonio, Texas in 1971. She learned to read and write at age four and began writing fiction and poetry shortly after. In 2000, she received an honors B.F.A. from the University of Texas-San Antonio, where she won an honorable mention in the juried student art show, upper division, for her untitled photograph. She worked as a professional photographer for two years before beginning work as a legal secretary for a law firm. Upon the death of her twin sister in 2014, she decided to write professionally in her sister’s honor. Her novella, The House of Wynne Lift, was first published in the October 2020 issue of the Scarlet Leaf Review. She still lives in San Antonio, Texas.