She grew up in suburban communities near Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri.
She has toured the Midwest with a jazz band, worked as a waitress, writing teacher, computer programmer, and math professor.
Tucker holds a graduate degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a graduate degree in math from Villanova University.
Her short story works and novellas have appeared in national publications including Seventeen Magazine, The Oxford American, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Tucker has appeared in national book clubs (including support from retailers such as Borders, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million), CBS's Early Show, in public radio, and in syndicated television programs.