As a child, the former Ann Charters read primarily classic literature. She did not read her first science fiction novel until college, and was not exposed to other genres, such as romance, until even later.

Maxwell earned a B.A. in English literature from the University of California, Riverside in 1966. Shortly thereafter, she married Evan Maxwell, a now former newspaper reporter who spent over fifteen years working for the LA Times, covering international crime. Early in their marriage, Maxwell became very bored. Her husband worked from 4:00 PM to midnight, and as there was no bus service near their house and Evan needed the car for work, Maxwell found herself alone at home with their toddler son. Maxwell did not like television and claims to have read all of the books in the local public library and did not have the money to purchase new books. To occupy herself, one day she seated herself in front of their ancient manual typewriter and began to write a book she would enjoy, even though she had no training in creative writing.

When Maxwell finished her book, a science fiction novel, she submitted it to several publishers. Over nine months later she began to receive rejection letters for it. After finally finding an agent to represent her, she was able to sell her first book, Change.

Ann Maxwell has written over 50 novels, some individually and some in collaboration with her husband. Her novels have been published in 21 foreign languages, and there are over 23 million copies of her books in print.

Ann Maxwell began her writing career in the science fiction genre. Her first novel, Change, was published in 1975. Over the next decade, eight other science fiction novels followed. Seven of those novels were recommended for the Science Fiction Writers of America Nebula Award, with the first coming within one vote of being a Nebula Award finalist. Another, A Dead God Dancing, was nominated for what was then called TABA (The American Book Award).

Ann and her husband Evan, in conjunction with Norwegian photographer Ivar Ruud, published the non-fiction work The Year-Long Day in 1976. This book had been published in four countries and was condensed in Reader's Digest.

Several years later the couple began collaborating on a crime novel. This resulted in a series of books about a couple named Fiddler and Fiora, all published under the name A.E. Maxwell. The University of California gave one of the books, The Frog and the Scorpion, a creative writing award. Time Magazine named Just Enough Light to Kill, one of the best crime novels of 1988.

The couple have also produced four best-selling suspense novels. Although these books are the result of a collaboration, they are published as Ann Maxwell, as the publisher wanted to use a woman's name.

Ann and Evan have also collaborated to write the novelization of the 1992 Val Kilmer movie Thunderheart. This novel is written under the pen name Lowell Charters, taking his middle name and her maiden name.

The couple have a structured system for their collaborations to minimize arguments. Evan Maxwell usually chooses the setting for the story. Together, the pair create the characters and then the plot. Once the plot has been fairly well established, Evan writes the first draft of the manuscript, consulting Ann if there are any major questions about the characters or plot changes that he would like to make. Ann then writes the second draft, with the freedom to make any changes that she thinks are necessary for "clarity, pacing, dialogue, and characterization." Evan then works on the third draft, which Ann must approve before it goes to the editor.