Carolyn Kingsley was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. She attended public schools in both Brevard and Volusia counties. Her formative years were spent in Titusville, in the heart of the citrus industry. "I grew up in the middle of a grove," she said. Her father's family were citrus pioneers. In her thirties and divorced for the second time, she moved her family to South Carolina, where she gave herself over to the dream of becoming a writer. Eventually she was published by Southern Exposure, and their syndicated column Facing South. Coming home to Florida, she wrote features for the local papers. The Citrus Baron is her first published novel.