Kimberly was born on January 9, 1975 in Mt. Zion, a "happening" suburb of Decatur (can you sense the sarcasm? :)). Kimberly graduated with honors from high school in 1993 and moved to Champaign to attend the University of Illinois .

During her first semester at college, Kimberly was introduced to IRC (Internet Relay Chat) by her dear friend (and bridesmaid) Tricia. Her second night on IRC, Kimberly was messaged by a mysterious stranger nicknamed "SunSword". Her interest quickly peaked by this mesmerizing man, Kimberly began to converse on a regular basis with "SunSword" over IRC and email.

Kimberly learned that "SunSword's" real name was Anthony Castoro and that he was a Sophomore at the University of Texas , majoring in Molecular Biology. The two had a lot in common, from sharing an interest in biology to a love of reading. Anthony told Kimberly that his Mother was a published romance novelist. Kimberly did not believe him, it sounded to much like a pick-up line, especially since she had just told him how much she enjoyed reading romance novels. Armed with his mother's pen name, Laura Parker, Kimberly set off to the local bookstore with her roommate Christy (also a bridesmaid!), to see if Anthony was telling the truth! Sure enough, there on the shelf was Beguiled. Peeking at page 3, the truth was shown in bold, black letting; © 1993 by Laura Castoro. Most impressive!

Figuring that a man whose mother writes romance novels must be a romantic himself, Kimberly was ready for the next step; the phone call. Since Kimberly did not have a computer, and the lab closed at 2 am, Kimberly and Anthony began to talk on the phone. Their first conversation is one that Kimberly will never forget. Not only was Anthony a great typist, he also had a sexy voice!

Photos were then exchanged, and a pattern was established. The two would chat on IRC until 2 am and then talk on the phone (much to the dismay of Kimberly's roommate Christy) until succumbing to sleep. This pattern continued until November, when the two decided to meet. Kimberly drove to Austin , where Anthony was attending the University of Texas , the week before Thanksgiving. After spending several days being shown the sights of Austin, and enjoying the beautiful weather, Kimberly fell in love (with the city, and the man).

Kimberly came back to Austin for Spring Break where she toured more of the city thanks to Joe (aka Bevo). It was time to make a big decision. Stay in IL, or move to Austin. Ever in search of adventure, Kimberly chose the latter. After finishing out her freshman year at the U of I, Kimberly moved to Austin in September of 1994 and hasn't looked back since! After initially obtaining a job at Austin Bio Med, Kimberly continued working on her degree at Southwestern University in Georgetown. Kimberly was hired on at IBM in the Spring of 1995, where she is still employed.

In her spare time, Kimberly works on wedding plans (of course) and reads at least one book a day. Kimberly also loves to travel. Her last trip took her on a week-long canoe trip down the Rio Grande, camping in Mexico and hiking in Big Bend National Park.