Christina Vaughan studied classical piano for many years and majored in music at Sonoma State University. Born in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, she and her family moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, when she was six years old. She attended Oklahoma State University, then moved to San Francisco.

She was a Senior Editor for a small publisher, and is now a freelance editor and publishing coordinator for self-published authors.

Vaughan and her husband, composer pianist Robert Ellis live in Sonoma County, California. Her son and her daughter-in-law live in San Diego, California.