Wingate was born on September 4, 1943, as Martha Anne Guice in Savannah, Georgia,[1][2][3] She grew up as a member of the Disciples of Christ Church, and is an adult convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Her daughter was being sought in connection with the murder of man in Utah.

Wingate stated that—on the basis of published information about the crime at the time—she is certain that Alicia would have been quickly exonerated if the case had made it to court.

Through Live Oak House, she published other writers, her own fantasies and romances, and works by some of her children.

[10] In addition to works published under her own name, Wingate wrote under the pseudonyms Lee Martin and Martha G.