Elkins was born in Houston, Texas, but her father was an itinerant carpenter and the family moved frequently, living mostly in the southwest and Southern California.
Elkins started her career in 1981 writing five mass-market romance novels for Mills & Boon/Harlequin under the pseudonym Emily Spenser, which were translated and sold in over a dozen countries.
Wodehouse, suddenly realized a novice pro golfer would make an interesting protagonist in an amateur detective novel and Lee Ofsted was born.
Encouraged, over the years, the Elkins wrote four more Lee Ofsteds: Rotten Lies (1995), Nasty Breaks (1997), Where have all the Birdies Gone?
In 1996, they co-authored the "Cumberland Cup Mystery Game," the first plot for Time Warner Electronic Publishing's Modus Operandi.