Dorothy Garlock was born on June 22, 1919, in Texas, but spent twenty-five years in Oklahoma City.
Garlock worked for fourteen years as a bookkeeper and columnist for the local newspaper before retiring at age 49.
To fill her time while she and her husband spent winters in a small south-Texas town, Garlock began to write stories.
[2] Two of Garlock's short stories, "Interlude in Big Bend" and "Beneath the Midnight Sun", were chosen by Universal Press Syndicate to launch their series Day Dreams.
Her novel A Love for All Time has been used as an example in the textbook Writing Romantic Fiction, by Helen Barnhardt.