Joy Peeler is a native Floridian born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A graduate of the University of Florida in Elementary Education, her career spanned 28 years teaching in the Alexandria Public School System. Retiring early to live on a boat and cruise the waters of Florida and the Bahamas, she returned to teaching in 2006 to a dream job teaching elementary students creative writing for two years at a private school in Longwood, Florida.