Plakcy studied creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania with Philip Roth and Carlos Fuentes. He went on to graduate from Columbia University's graduate school of business with an MBA in real estate and operations management.

While working as a producer for a computer game company in South Florida, Plakcy studied for his MFA degree in creative writing at Florida International University. He graduated in 1992, as a member of the university's first class to receive that degree. His instructors were Lynne Barrett, James W. Hall and Les Standiford, and his classmates included Vicki Hendricks, Christine Kling, Dennis Lehane and Barbara Parker. His thesis was a comic novel about Jewish family relationships and shopping mall construction, Invasion of the Blatnicks.

Plakcy began his professional publishing career with the first of his Hawaiian mysteries, Mahu, acquired and edited for Haworth Press by mystery author Greg Herren. With the second book in the series, Mahu Surfer, Plakcy moved to Alyson Books, which continued the series with Mahu Fire and Mahu Vice, and published their own edition of Mahu in 2009.

Plakcy and long-time friend Sharon Sakson co-edited a collection of stories by gay men about their experiences with their dogs, entitled Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog. A frequent contributor to gay anthologies, Plakcy also edited three collections of gay erotica for Cleis Press, Hard Hats, Surfer Boys and Skater Boys.

With the publication of GayLife.com in 2009, Plakcy entered the M/M romance genre, basing the book on his own experiences in software and web development and his familiarity with Miami Beach. His other romance novels are the bodyguard adventure series Three Wrong Turns in the Desert and Dancing with the Tide.

Mystery Novels

• Mahu (2005 Haworth Press) (2009 Alyson Books)
• Mahu Surfer (2007 Alyson Books)
• Mahu Fire (2008 Alyson Books)
• Mahu Vice (2009 Alyson Books)
• Mahu Men (2010 MLR Press) - collection of mystery & erotic stories

Other Books

• Paws and Reflect: A Special Bond Between Man and Dog (2007 hardcover), 2008 (trade paper)
• Hard Hats (Cleis Press, 2008)
• Surfer Boys (Cleis Press, 2009)
• GayLife.com (MLR Press, 2009)
• Three Wrong Turns in the Desert (Loose Id, 2009)
• Dancing with the Tide (Loose Id, 2010)