M. E. Kemp was born in Oxford, MA, where her ancestors settled in 1713 and where her family still resides. As a child Kemp wrote for family gatherings; in high school and college she wrote for the school newspapers, both fact and fiction. In high school she won first prize in a national Scholastics short story contest. She attended Worcestor State College in Massachusetts and received her MA English from Siena College in Loudonville, NY. Under her married name, Rothstein, she wrote nonfiction articles in many national and regional magazines, from Americana to Soccer America. She was commissioned to write a textbook for Cornell Cooperative Extension: What Every Citizen Should Know.

Kemp reverted to her maiden name for her first novel, Murder, Mather and Mayhem, (Xlibris) which introduced her two nosy Puritans as detectives. Hetty Henry is twice-widowed, wealthy, with connections to low and high society. Increase "Creasy" Cotton, named for his uncle Increase Mather, is a young minister with training to reveal the guilty secrets of the human soul. Creasy is the cousin of Cotton Mather, who often acts as comic relief.

Publishers Hilliard and Harris picked up her series with Death of a Dutch Uncle ('07) and Death of a Bawdy Belle (March '08.) Belle is set during the Salem witch trials.

Kemp's short story, "Murder in the Mill," was chosen by Sisters in Crime/NYC chapter for their Nov.'07 anthology of stories set in the Metro NYC area: Murder New York Style. Other shorts have appeared in NEWN and in DEADLY INK. Kemp has also written articles for Mystery Readers Journal, most recently in the historical mysteries '08 issue.

Kemp travels around the Northeast with her popular slide-talk based upon her research, "Naughty Puritans and Saintly Sinners." She has taught nonfiction writing courses for several local colleges and for many libraries. Kemp is currently at work on her 4th book in the series; Death of a Dancing Master, which is an outgrowth of her love of dance. (For ten years Kemp/Rothstein taught a program for those aged 50 plus called: Dancing Through Time. She has been privileged to work with dancers from the major dance companies.) She is married to Jack Rothstein and lives with Jack and two cats, Boris and Natasha, in Saratoga Springs, NY, where every summer she touts tip sheets to bettors.