A native of Iowa, Dene has lived in North Carolina for two decades. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay and has written professionally in numerous genres, including corporate publications, executive speeches, newspaper feature writing, and commercial videos. She has co-authored two books of poetry, An Explosion of Toads and Swirls on a Green Plate. She currently lives and writes in Winston-Salem, NC. She has four daughters and six grandsons.