Eklund was born in Seattle, Washington state. His first story ever published, the 1970 novelette Dear Aunt Annie earned him a Nebula award nomination. Though he lost the award to fellow Trek writer Theodore Sturgeon (who penned the screenplays for "Shore Leave" and "Amok Time" ), Eklund later won the 1974 Nebula award for his novelette If the Stars Are Gods. His writing career seemed to peak in the seventies. Since then he seems to have only published novels in 1980 and 1989, and a handful of short stories in the time since then. He has written both for adults and children.