Louisa grew up in New Jersey and lived in Japan for four years, first as an undergraduate student and then while completing her Ph.D. in cultural anthropology at Columbia University in New York. She now lives with her husband in Vancouver, Canada.

After fifteen years as a university professor in Vancouver, Louisa left teaching to spend more time writing young adult fiction. Her lifelong interest in languages, cultures, history and social justice is reflected in the stories she tells.

When she’s not writing, Louisa enjoys painting, fitness training (she’s a former non-competitive gymnast) and travel, especially when it involves art museums, historical walking tours, great vegan restaurants and bookstores.

To read about her young adult novel (unpublished), I Am But One, and how it relates to her family, please click here.