Anna Pigeon solves a series of mysteries set in U.S. National Parks. Nevada Barr uses her own experience as a park ranger to fill in the details around these stories. Ms Barr's alter ego, Paxton, is an artist. In an e-mail interview recorded on the Mississippi Writers and Musicians Project of Starkville High School, Nevada Barr identified some of her favorite authors as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.