Jane Onstott earned a bachelor of arts degree in Spanish language and literature from San Diego State University, with a year's study at Spain's Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Since that time she has lived and traveled extensively in Mexico and throughout Latin America. Onstott has worked as the director of communications and information for the Charles Darwin Research Station in the Channel Islands and as a Spanish-language interpreter and translator in Mexico and the United States. Since 1986 she has contributed to such magazines as Brides and Latin Trade, as well as to travel guides covering Mexico, Ecuador, and the United States.