Adina Senft grew up in a plain house church, where she was often asked by outsiders if she was Amish (the answer was no). Writing as Shelley Bates, she was the winner of RWA's RITA Award for Best Inspirational Novel in 2005, a finalist for that award in 2006, and, writing as Shelley Adina, was a Christy Award finalist in 2009. A transplanted Canadian, Adina returns there annually to have her accent calibrated.