Growing up on a small farm in West Kentucky, Philip Jeffress learned what he needed to know to write Pretty Bird. He heard the voices of the characters, knew the dialect and vernacular of their conversations, and understood their strengths and frailties. He felt compelled to tell their stories, against the back drop of their style of life, and their culture as related to him by his parents and other forebears. Jeffress graduated from Fulton High School, earned a college degree from Union University, and went on to complete his formal education with the conferral of Masters and Ph.D. Degrees in Economics from the University of Kentucky. After his career as a Professor of Economics at the University of New Orleans, Dr. Jeffress and his wife of fifty years now reside in Atlanta, Georgia, where they dote on their children and grandchildren. Writing books, scholarly articles and economic impact studies was his profession. Writing Pretty Bird was his passion.