About Willamette

Fantasy Author

Her Story

Willamette’s earliest memories of books coincided with those of America, when she first came here from Hong Kong at the age of seven. Awed by the abundance of free books available at the Chatham Square Public Library in New York City’s Chinatown, she determined to learn English so that she could partake in this bounty. One day, after a befuddling year of second grade, the words of a story came alive to her, and Willamette finally felt at home in this country. Since then, she has loved libraries, books, and the English language.

Willamette did not catch the writing vision immediately, briefly sidelined by a desire to be a detective. She blames Encyclopedia Brown, The Three Investigators, and Trixie Belden for that misguidance. In fact, she tried her hand at shadowing people in the innocuous streets of New York City. For some reason, she quit doing that quickly. By her teenage years, Willamette had seen the light. She would be the youngest ever writer of mystery books, at the age of fourteen.

That did not happen.

Willamette studied physics in college and got her master’s degree in library science. This turned out be a successful combination for a long career in academic libraries. But being such a responsible adult did not quell her literary dreams. Willamette continued to be an avid reader of fiction—slowly shifting from mystery to the fantasy genre. Finally reading the Lord of the Rings properly in her thirties cemented that love. (In her teens, she started with The Two Towers to save time and was not impressed.)

During the pandemic, Willamette received clarity. She became a casualty of a COVID layoff. Suddenly, the way cleared for her to write the tale that had chased her for years. ADAMANT IN DUST is the first installment of that story. Willamette combines all these experiences and interests to deliver stories that thrill the imagination and mind. But she loves to include deeper layers of mystery and meaning to discover. Thus, palimpsest tales.