Buckner graduated with English Honours from Memphis State University, studied writing at Harvard University, then earned her Masters degree in Creative Writing at Boston University. She has travelled through Europe, New Zealand, Japan and North America, lived in California, Alaska, Maine and Massachusetts, and now resides in Nashville, Tennessee. As marketing vice president for a nationwide financial firm, her commercial writing earned numerous professional awards, including two Diamond Addies. She is currently a freelance writer, environmental activist, and white-water kayaker. Other publishing credits include short stories, creative nonfiction, magazine features, and a major research report for the World Wildlife Fund. She won the Philip K. Dick award in 2005 for her novel War Surf.
