My Story

After receiving my undergraduate degree in biology from Scripps College, I worked for many years as a research assistant up and down the west coast. When finally I decided to come out of the field I opted not to pursue a PhD, as so many of my colleagues did, but to explore my creative aspirations instead.

Inspired by, and partnered with, my long time friend Karim Ahmad and then-boyfriend Daniel Dávila, I spent the next several years working as a filmmaker. In 2004 Daniel and I married. In 2006 we produced our first feature film together. In 2007 we welcomed our daughter into our lives.

It was during my pregnancy with my daughter that I first took the time to embrace what had, until then, been a hobby of short story writing. It wasn’t long before I saw that writing was what I wanted to do – all day every day, if possible. I applied to the Master of Professional Writing program at the University of Southern California, and graduated in May of 2010 with honors.

One month later I signed with literary agent Angela Rinaldi of the Angela Rinaldi Literary Agency, and began working on the proposal for my first full length non-fiction book. Concurrently, I continue to spend every free moment working on my novel, composing a travel book about Northern California, writing articles, and blogging about what I learn as I continue to grow as a writer.