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 some of my books here.

Currently, I am anticipating the early 2027 release of my historical novel, OF WIND AND DUST, that I sold at auction to Whitney Frick at the Dial Press. It’s a sweeping, multigenerational novel about three women married to the same man at the same time, and it stretches from rural China to an emerging, mid-nineteenth century Seattle.

Three women—one born married, one born enslaved, one born free—brought together by one man.

Betrothed at birth, Yook Lan enters the Chun House as a teenager to become the household’s Great Wife–only to be left behind by a husband who must journey across the world to ensure the survival of his family.

Forced to sleep on the floor of a storeroom, gambled away, and ransomed into the Chun household, Guai Fong finds herself cared for but isolated, as neither servant nor daughter.

Mary has only ever known the silver waters and green trees of Puget Sound. But her life is forever changed when she falls in love with a stranger who has come to America to make his fortune, but who must return to China to secure his legacy.

The abandoned first wife, the ransomed slave, and the displaced young woman become inextricably linked, their happiness and purpose connected to one man, one household. Through decades, across oceans, and painting a vivid portrait of three women as they struggle against history’s constraints, OF WIND AND DUST is an unforgettable, intricately crafted story of striving, sacrifice, love, and loyalty inspired by my own family history.

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 twelve 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 leading male protagonist of my novel, Chun, are based on the same man.

You can find out more about the nonfiction behind the fiction by clicking to download this fact sheet:

More behind-the-scenes glimpses as I researched this book are to be found 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 was sold with the help of my wonderful agent Heather Jackson, in a deal that Publishers Weekly named their Deal of the Week.

Let’s hope this is a tiding of good things to come. Wish me luck! And if you’d like to be notified when we have a publishing date—I am thinking up a special thank you gift for early supporters—register here.

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 most meals included, and libations poured every evening when we gather to share and discuss our work, and to give 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 if a spot becomes available.

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.

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 one of my many editor friends 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!