L. Y. Marlow is originally from Philadelphia. She is the third generation of her family to have been a victim and survivor of domestic violence: a violence that almost took her own life and the life of her unborn child. L. Y. Marlow is also the founder of Saving Promise, a national grassroots awareness organization that is inspired by her granddaughter, Promise, whose life was threatened in a domestic violence dispute. Ms. Marlow has appeared on local, regional, and national television and radio and has been featured in various magazines. Color Me Butterfly (Three Rivers Press) is her first novel.