Born in Hawaii, I’ve lived all over the US and in a few Asian countries, as well. I started writing when I was five years old, but it wasn’t until I fell in love with Stephen Spender’s poem “What I Expected” my senior year of high school that I got really serious about pursuing literature. I went to college, graduated with a degree in English, and that same year started my novel Violet Last and Trembling. My writing is informed by my love for great literature, my struggles with mental health, a keen interest in theology, and a fascination for the way humans interact with one another!
And what better way to truly get to know me than for me to list some of the authors and stories that I’ve loved? I grew up reading and re-reading favorites like Little Women, the Anne of Green Gables series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and the Pyrdain Chronicles. Other works I’ve loved include novels by Chiam Potok, John Steinbeck, Amy Tan, Oscar Wilde, Madeleine L’Engle, George Orwell, Anne Tyler, and Jane Austen. I also love A Separate Peace, The Brothers Karamozov, The Lord of the Rings, and… I’m sure I’m forgetting something! My all-time favorite book? Sorry to English teacher the way out of this one, but nothing beats Hamlet.