Sheila Grant worked for CBS broadcasting in the late 1960s in the programming department under the legendary television executive Michael Dann, where she was a writer and analyst specializing in US/Soviet relations at the height of the Cold War. She attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas and The University of Texas at Austin where she studied English literature. She also attended the University of Mexico and the American Institute in Mexico City where she lived with Chela del Río, sister of famed actress Dolores del Río. It was Chela del Río who introduced her to the Mexico that became the backdrop of Passport to Danger. Grant is a bibliophile who devours Publisher’s Weekly and visits the nearest bookstore every Tuesday to purchase the new releases. Grant is a native of Dallas where she resides with her husband, Jody, with whom she has two adult children.