Peltier was born and raised in New England, graduating cum laude from Pomona College in Claremont.

[1] She directed and co-wrote the primetime documentary special, Scared Silent: Exposing and Ending Child Abuse, hosted by Oprah Winfrey, released in 1992.

Later, she directed and wrote the Breaking the Silence: Kids Against Child Abuse, which won a Peabody Award in 1995.

[4] Peltier has co-authored, with Cesar Millan, five books[5] all of which became New York Times Bestsellers.

The story of the novel is based on what happens to a group of idealistic filmmakers after their long running documentary series is cancelled and they are thrust into the assembly line world of reality TV.