She was born Billie Josephine Carver on July 16, 1968, in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents were William Henry Carver and Arlene Baldwin. Her older brother, William Jackson Baldwin, was born four years earlier, in 1964. Her parents married in 1967, after interracial marriage was made legal in the United States because of Loving v. Virginia. Her father was killed in a robbery, though many believe he was targeted because of his involvement in the investigation into the murder of Captain Jasper Baldwin (Billie’s uncle/Arlene’s older brother). Her family left Boston the following year and moved back to New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother remarried two years later, marrying Sgt. Franklin Carson, USMC. Her younger half-sister, Nina Bella, was born the following year, in 1972. In September 1974, Billie started the first grade at Saint Augustine Academy for Girls and met Bobbie Lamont. They became best friends right off the bat and would remain friends for the next twenty-seven years. In 1986, Billie graduated from Saint Augustine, along with Bobbie. She joined Bobbie at Tulane University, and they graduated four years later, in 1990 (read Nothing but Trouble for more about those years). The summer after Billie graduated, in 1990, changed her life. She thought she knew what she wanted in life: to be a journalist and live in Los Angeles, but then two different women came into her life. One was Josephine Carver, her father’s mother, and the other was Michelle Connor, Nina’s best friend. Her first short story was published that summer. At the end of the summer, Billie left New Orleans. Josephine had invited her to live with her in Boston, and Billie had accepted. Billie would live with Josephine until Josephine died in September 1993. Billie started writing her debut novel a week later. Three months later, she went to New York City and submitted her manuscript to Bobbie, who was a Junior Editor at Black Springs Press. The following year, her short story collection, Anything Goes, was published by Black Springs Press. Her debut novel, Soft Side of Oblivion, was published the following fall, in 1995.
Billie met fellow author Jasper Walker that summer, and they married in January 1996. Their daughter, Rebecca Josephine, was born that August. Her second novel, Life on Beacon Hill, was published the following year, in 1997. It was followed by her third novel, Jackson’s Jukebox, in 1999, a short story collection, The New Girl, in 2000, and her fourth novel, Dancing at Capote’s, in 2001. She died on September 11, 2001. She had flown up to Boston from Birmingham to celebrate her older brother’s birthday with him and his family the day before and was on her way back the following day. Four more of her books were published after her death. Her memoir, The Razorback Rebel (about her relationship with Jasper Walker), was published in 2003, a short story collection, Back in the South, in 2004, another memoir, My Best Friend (about her friendship with Bobbie Lamont), in 2005, and another short story collection, Living Without You, in 2006.