Name: Lori M. Lee

Website: https://lorimlee.com/

Asian background: Hmong American

What is it about your experience and upbringing that inspired you the most to write?

I wish I had a more exciting answer for this haha. But writing and reading were always an escape for me when I was younger. My real life was kind of a downer, so fantasy books and stories became my refuge. Since I never saw myself in any of those fantastical places I loved so much, I wrote myself into them. Of course, I wrote myself as white because that’s what everything around me told me I should want, and it took years and years to dismantle the self-hatred. But it was definitely during those early years when I really discovered my passion for writing and how much it meant to me. So I guess I’m grateful for that 🙂

Name 3 authors and 3 books

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He

The Girl From Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

Wintersong by S. Jae-Jones.

What do you think is the best quality a writer can have?

Persistence. Writing for publication means coming up again so many obstacles, and it can really wear you down if you’re not mentally prepared. But the good thing is that publishing is a long game, and if you stick with it, eventually your book will find its readers ❤

Any last words? (Fun facts, comments, something you’d like to share with the world, etc.)

In addition to being an author, I also wanted to be a paleontologist, a historian, an English college professor, a mermaid, a witch, and a fairy. I still want those last two tbh.