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Renee Garrison was born in Washington DC. Her father was a naval aviator, whose job required the family to move every three years. Though she hated changing schools, Renee discovered a freedom to reinvent herself in each new city where she lived. She discovered her love of journalism while writing for her high school newspaper and graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Mass Communications. She spent 18 years as a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune.

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During the decade she worked as the newspaper’s architecture critic, Renee won two communication awards from the American Institute of Architects. In 2011, she visited her former home in the Sanford Naval Academy (which closed its doors in 1976.) The current owners graciously gave her a tour, memories flooded back and a book was born. Her Young Adult novel, “The Anchor Clankers,” won a gold medal in the 2017 Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Awards. "The Habormaster," a mystery novel she co-wrote with her husband, Robert, is a medalist in the 2026 President's Book Awards.