DJ Anderson was born in Wisconsin and raised on the shores of Lake Michigan. As a young girl she learned about oral tradition by listening to the stories told to her by her Norwegian and German ancestors. While living on the campus of a New England boarding school with her husband and two small children, she began writing down the stories to preserve them for future generations. The practice evolved into writing about her own experiences in nonfiction accounts, creating short stories of fiction, and crafting novels.

She is a graduate of Stetson University and has a masters of arts and liberal studies degree with a focus in children’s literature from Wesleyan University. She currently lives in Bradenton, Florida, where she is the owner of her communications business.