Vernell Hackett

Vernell Hackett is a freelance journalist in Nashville, Tennessee, who has covered the entertainment business there for more than 20 years. She writes for www.theboot.com, Country Weekly, Venues Today, American Cowboy and other magazine and internet outlets. She has authored several books, "Carrie Underwood Biography," and "Ghosts, Gangsters and Gamblers of Las Vegas," with Liz Cavanaugh and Michelle Honick. A short story, "The Girl From Boulder Ridge," was included in "Literary Cash," and she has contributed information to several music encyclopedias. Hackett was born in Riesel, Texas and attended Sam Houston State University, where she acquired a B.S. degree in journalism with a minor in history and a great interest in criminology. She aspired to be a police reporter but decided while a senior at SHSU she would rather write about music, and thus the journey began!