Gale moved to Sun City Grand, an active adult community, in the summer of 2004. Prior to that, she'd never heard of pickleball. After reading an announcement to attract more players that said "Pickleball is a great sport with a silly name," she and her husband decided to give it a try. She'd played tennis as a girl, but that had been quite a while ago. The description of the smaller court size made her think this might work better as a means of getting in shape and having fun.After an initial lesson, Gale started playing and found she loved this sport. She went to the local bookstores and searched online for a book about pickleball. She bought the only two she could find and read them both, but neither was quite what she was looking for.

One day, she was thinking back to when she'd been a technical writer prior to retirement, and she decided she could write the book she'd hoped to find, and gathering the information might help her to become a better player at the same time.She began interviewing players at Sun City Grand, many of whom are considered some of the finest in the nation, and then talked with other players who were recommended in neighboring communities. Then she started writing. The Art of Pickleball was published in November, 2005.

Gale lives in Surprise, Arizona, with her husband and three ocicats.