Jennifer Lynn Barnes was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Barnes has written more than twenty-three novels in the past fifteen years. 

According to Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s website, Barnes has advanced degrees in psychology, psychiatry, and cognitive science, including graduate degrees from Cambridge University. Barnes wrote her first novel at nineteen and wrote five books in college. Barnes has also written original pilot scripts for television networks like USA and MTV. Barnes is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of fandoms and the cognitive science of fiction and the imagination. Barnes currently works at the University of Oklahoma teaching Psychology and Professional Writing.

According to Good Reads, Barnes’ novel, The Inheritance Game has 176,617 reviews. Reviewer Cindy wrote a review saying, “There’s just something satisfying about seeing a poor humble girl get a buttload of money while the rich don’t get anything. The mystery was surprisingly compelling: there were so many questions brought up, and every time there was a new development or answer, it would only unlock even more questions?! I also surprisingly liked all of the characters; they all have strong personalities, unique qualities, and fun dialogue.”

Barnes’ novels include the Inheritance Game series, Raised by Wolves, a trilogy a werewolf series, The Naturals a series about a group of gifted kids who solve cold cases for the FBI, and a duology series called Tattoo, where a friend group gets superpowers from temporary tattoos, Squad, a series following a secret agent cheer squad, and many other books.