About Me

Born in New York City, I was raised on stories passed down for generations about villages by the sea on islands far away in the Aegean. I listened closely when grandparents, aunts, and uncles shared accounts of our history, memories of their immigration. I always wanted to hear one more myth, one more tale of Artemis and Hercules. 

 

My love for stories grew as I studied creative writing and received my BA and MA in English literature at Fordham University. That’s when I started my first kid-lit manuscript and realized that being an author was an actual job. I knew I needed health insurance, though, so once I graduated, I pursed my other passion----teaching English. After all, I loved kids, the craft of writing, and talking about books. Why not teach? I worked as an ELA teacher in Brooklyn. I convinced middle schoolers, who claimed they hated reading, that Shakespeare was cool, taught them about dangling modifiers, and helped them discover themselves in the vast world of literature. 

 

My students’ enthusiasm reminded me that I wanted to write books. I attended Simmons University and earned my MFA in writing children’s literature. As I studied, I found myself returning to my childhood. My family became my inspiration. I write about the intersection between intergenerational ties, immigration, and culture. Put simply, my work is a love letter to the village who raised me. ​

 

I love writing, but I love teaching too. I'm back in the classroom full time. I teach sixth grade ELA. When I'm not working, I'm talking about Avatar the Last Airbender, Percy Jackson, Taylor Swift, and whales. 

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