I'm a Japanese American author, wife, and a mom to a daughter in college. I happen to have a dog who is a kitchen ninja. I also live with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a neurological chronic pain disease.

Nurturing my creative side does not take away my pain, but it helps me to push through it and live my life in spite of it.

My debut MG historical fiction novel, THE LAST CHERRY BLOSSOM (Sky Pony Press, 8/2016), is based on events in my mother's life in Hiroshima during the last year of World War II. It is through her 12-year-old eyes that readers witness the horrific destruction of the atomic bomb.

I visit middle and high schools to discuss my book and my mother's experience. My presentation also includes information about the culture and mindset of Japan during WWII, giving students a point of view they rarely hear about. My hope is not only to convey the message that nuclear weapons should never be used again; but to also reveal that the children in Japan had the same love for family, fear of what could happen to them, and hopes for peace as the Allied children had. If interested in having me present at your school, please contact me.

Represented by Anna Olswanger.