Growing up, I didn't see myself reflected in the books and magazines I read or the TV and movies I watched. It had a profound effect on the way I felt about my place in the world as an Asian American, like somehow I was less than, which I now know wasn't true.

 

After a decade of building a career in advertising, I shifted from identifying brand motivations to character motivations. Everyone is deserving of seeing themselves in the stories they read and watch. Not as caricatures. Not as cliches. But as strong characters with multifaceted personalities and values. From books to screens, writing relatable stories that find joy and laughter through pain is a focus of my writing. My work spans children's literature, editorial, adult fiction, and screenwriting.

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My children's book journey began when a 2018 report by the Cooperative Children's Book Center confirmed that there were more children's books about animal characters (27%) than Asian and Pacific Islander characters (7%). In fact, there were more books with animal characters than all POC characters combined (23%). As a result, I set out to increase Asian representation in children's literature.