Peng Shepherd was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona,[4] a daughter of Lin Sue Cooney, a retired Channel 12 anchor.

[5] Peng earned a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Arizona State University in 2006.

[2][5][7] Her debut novel, The Book of M, a dystopian fantasy, was published by HarperCollins in 2018, and received mainly favorable reviews.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Book of M was optioned for screen adaptation on television by Elizabeth Sarnoff from Universal Content Productions.

[7][17][18][19][20] Vivian Shaw, the editor from the Washington Post, wrote about The Cartographers in her book review: "Shepherd, also the author of “The Book of M”, nails the sense of deep-seated, profound connection and love between a small group of people drawn together by shared experience and interest, creating an intense familial bond.