Peters died at her home on March 21, 2023, at the age of 71. Peters married her longtime partner, Sherri Leggett, in 2014. Peters began her writing career with the publication of her first two books, The Stinky Sneakers Contest, illustrated by Cat Bowman Smith, in 1992, and Risky Friends in 1993. Following this, Peters was a computer systems engineer for Electronic Data Systems in Denver from 1985 until 1988. Hardly surprising then that Luna is less of an euphoric read.

Her sister, Regan, is devoted to and absorbed by Luna, being her only confident and lifeline, to such an extent that it is destroying her. She subsequently worked as a secretary, research assistant, computer programmer and systems analyst for Tracom Corporation in Denver from 1975 until 1984. Luna is torn between the suffering of having the wrong body and a dreamworld in which she has become the girl she knows she is. However, she was unsuccessful as an educator, and pursued a different career path. Peters first worked as a teacher, teaching fifth grade and working as a special needs education assistant in the Jefferson County School District in Lakewood, Colorado, in 1975. In 1989, Peters earned an MBA from the University of Colorado Denver with emphasis in information systems. During the next ten years, Peters worked as a research analyst, computer programmer, and systems engineer. She earned a BS in computer and management science from the Metropolitan State University of Denver in 1985. Peters received a BA in elementary education from Colorado Women's College in 1974, with a minor in French. Her parents divorced when she was in high school. When she was five, her family moved to the suburbs of Denver.

Julie Anne Peters was born in Jamestown, New York, on January 16, 1952, one of four siblings. Her 2004 book Luna was the first young-adult novel with a transgender character to be released by a mainstream publisher. In addition to the United States, Peters's books have been published in numerous countries, including South Korea, China, Croatia, Germany, France, Italy, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil. Peters published 20 works, mostly novels, geared toward children and adolescents, many of which feature LGBT characters. Julie Anne Peters (Janu– March 21, 2023) was an American author of young adult fiction.

Luna by Julie Anne Peters