Mary K Spence was born in Baltimore, Maryland and was the youngest of three children of a surgeon father and a librarian mother. She is a 1972 graduate of Archbishop Keough, a Catholic high school for girls. The murder of teacher Sister Catherine Cesnik and sexual abuse offenses committed there were featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary The Keepers. She attended Goucher College (BA, 1976,) University of Maryland School of Nursing (BSN, 1979,) University of Maryland (M.Ed, 2013,) and University of Baltimore (MFA, 2018.) She has retired from a career as a Registered Nurse, including many years at Johns Hopkins Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She now divides her time between creative writing, photography, and illustration. She is the author of a collection of short stories entitled "Baltimore 21224" as well as several stories and poems published in literary journals. She was the 2014 winner of the Howard County Times Cup for achievements in Home Arts at the Howard County (Maryland) Fair. She resides in Ellicott City, a suburb of Baltimore.