Weatherford began writing in first grade by dictating poems to her mother. Her father taught printing at a local high school and published his daughter's early works. As a child, she enjoyed reading Dr. Seuss and Langston Hughes. Continuing to pursue creative writing as a hobby through high school and college, she later earned her M.F.A. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and an M.A. in publication design from the University of Baltimore. Although a Baltimore native, she now resides in North Carolina and teaches composition and children's literature at Fayetteville State University (FSU). Initially, Weatherford was invited to FSU as a writer-in-residence, but in 2007, she received the position of associate professor.