Charlotte "Charlie" Hudson, born in Pine Bluff, Ark., and raised in Louisiana, is a 22-year career military veteran and wife, freelance writer and author.

After graduating from Northwestern State University in 1974, she entered the Army through a special program of the Women's Army Corps (WAC) - two years before the first women were commissioned through a test program in selected college Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs.

Hudson experienced a number of "firsts" during her career. She was the first female officer assigned in the history of the 19th Maintenance Battalion in Giessen, Germany; the first female selected to command a maintenance company at Ft. Campbell, Ky.; the first female ROTC instructor at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas; the first female to be designated as the executive officer to the commanding general at the U.S. Army Ordnance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md. and the first female to command the Leghorn Depot in Livorno, Italy.

During her extensive military career Hudson was deployed to Saudi Arabia for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy. She retired from the Army in 1995 as a lieutenant colonel.

She and her husband, Hugh Hudson, recently moved to South Florida where they can enjoy their love of scuba diving.

Hudson has a masters of science in organizational development from East Texas State University, and is a graduate of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Barracks, Pa. She is a charter member of both the National Women's Museum of Art and the Women in the Military Service of America Foundation. Hudson is also a member of the Washington Independent Writers and the VII Corps Desert Storm Veterans Association.

Hudson's first novel, Orchids in the Snow, was written after she retired from active duty. Her second novel, Shades of Murder, invites readers to the fictional town of Verde Key, Florida for an intriguing story and a great cast of characters. Her first book-length non-fiction, The Parent's Guide to Business Travel: Practical Advice and Wisdom for When You Have To Be Away, is an easy reading book for any parent who has ever faced work-related family separations. Her latest novel, Shades of Truth, returns readers to Verde Key for an intricate tale of vengeance gone wrong and a relentless pursuit of truth.