M. K. Baxley was born in Brooklyn, New York, but spent her young formative years with her parents on her grandfather's farm in Falls Mill, Tennessee. She attended Tennessee Technological University in the heart of the Cumberland Plateau, earning a BS degree in Computer Science. Upon graduation, she worked in the aerospace industry for four years before leaving her career to care for her growing family.

She currently resides in Huntsville, Alabama with her husband and three of their five children. Her daughter and third son attend the University of Alabama in Huntsville while her oldest son is serving as a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps, having completed three tours of duty in Iraq, one as a battery commander. Her second son also serves his country in the United States Marine Corps.

She enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, needlework and sewing. She has completed many personal designs in children's clothing, and though she lives in the city, she has often said she was more at home in the woods with a good book and a hound as her companion.