Claire Rudolf Murphy was born in Spokane, Washington, the daughter of a journalist and a librarian. She has loved writing since grade school. She received a degree in history from Santa Clara University, then went on to earn a teaching credential from the University of California at Berkeley. In 1974, after graduating from college, she moved to Alaska and became a Jesuit Volunteer teacher at St. Mary’s in western Alaska. She met her husband there and they later moved to Fairbanks where they both worked as teachers. She earned her Master's of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. While teaching middle-school language arts, she began writing in order to understand the creative process and help her students. Following the birth of her own children, she quit teaching and begin writing professionally. In 1998, her husband retired from his position as principal, and they moved to Spokane, Washington.