About Me: writer

I am the author of 21 children's books, the best-known of which is Ruby's Wish, an Ezra Jack Keats Award winner. My successful debut had Publishers Weekly include me on a list of “new authors to watch” — several years and two feature articles later, I made it to their front cover as the founding goose of Goosebottom Books. You can take a look at my books here.

Currently, I am working on The Other Wives, a literary historical novel for adults. In a sweep from the 1840s to the 1870s that spans from China to the Puget Sound, we meet three women whose lives are destined to entwine. One is born married, betrothed from birth to the heir of the Chun House. One is born a slave, sleeping where she can among the Chuns’ rice sacks. A third is a Suquamish woman from the Puget Sound, who is watching the Salish world collapse around her when twists of fate bring her into the Chun home. All three of their journeys are catalyzed by betrayal. All three must decide how far they are willing to go to find belonging—and whether, in a world that denies them power, they have what it takes to shape their own happiness.

The story was inspired by the lives of my great-great-great-grandfather, the first Chinese settler in Seattle; my great-great-great-grandmother, reputedly the daughter of a Puget Sound chief; some of great-great-great-grandpa’s other eleven wives; and assorted family histories. In fact, you’ve already had a glimpse of this story if you’ve read Ruby’s Wish, as Ruby’s grandfather and the sole male protagonist of my novel, Chun, are based on the same man. You can find out more about the nonfiction behind the fiction in early posts of Writing Life, and here in this History Café presentation (Recording No. 34) I gave on behalf of the Seattle Museum of History and Industry, the Seattle Room of Seattle Public Library, and HistoryLink.org.

The novel is finally nearing completion and will be looking for an agent. Wish it luck!

editor and retreat leader

When I'm not writing, I am an editor, writing coach, and writing retreat leader. I've been dubbed a "tiger editor" independently by two of my clients, because I give tough developmental edits. (They did come back!)

For those who don't like tough, there are my writing retreats. These are four- or seven-night stays in beautiful and secluded surroundings, with all meals catered, and libations poured every evening when we gather to share our work and receive feedback. There is nothing, I believe, like writing in community. These few days can be the most productive of the year. 

You can find notices of upcoming retreats here, and sign up to be on the list for advance notifications.

Classes and speaking engagements

And finally, I teach. I have private students in facilitated writers’ groups, several of whom are now published. I have also taught writing and publishing at the NSW Writers’ Center in Australia, the AFCC in Singapore, the Writing Salons in San Francisco and Berkeley, for eight American universities including Stanford, and for writing conferences such as the Mendocino Coast Writers' Conference, Write On The Sound, the Michigan Writing Workshop, the San Diego Writing Workshop, the Australian Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators National Conference, and the Book Passage Children's Writers and Illustrators Conference. Occasionally I also speak on behalf of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation about the importance of diversity in children’s literature, a topic close to my heart. A videos of me doing just that is embedded below.

Contact Me

Feel free to reach out if you're interested in booking a speaking engagement or some developmental editing. If my schedule is full, I'd be happy to recommend somebody else who might be appropriate. I am also available for consultations via Zoom, for which I charge $180/hour, during which time you can pick my brain and my rolodex.

In the meantime, happy writing and I hope our journeys overlap!

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Contact Me