Laurence Mergi Rapoport, also known as L.M. Rapp or Laurence M. Rapp, was born in Toulouse, France, in 1966. She is the author of two novels, A Dreadful Beauty and Of Flesh and Tears, both originally written in French. Rapoport grew up in Toulouse before attending Paul Sabatier University. She worked as a dentist for several years before turning to writing. In 2022, she published her debut novel, A Dreadful Beauty, a highly rated coming-of-age fantasy novel. Her next book, Of Flesh and Tears, a genre-bending psychological story about a woman whose fragile mental health is thrown into turmoil by the aggression of both man and beast, is set to be released in 2025. She currently lives in Israel with her husband and three daughters and writes daily.