I’m often asked how I became a writer. The simple answer is that I’ve always known I wanted to write. The more complex answer is that writing is the accumulation of my entire life story, the millions of particular experiences that have shaped me, my interests and obsessions, all the people I’ve met and all the books I’ve read.
Over the past decades, I’ve written internationally bestselling novels that have been translated into over thirty languages. I’ve written award-winning memoirs about my life. I’ve been a book columnist for The New York Times and the Chair Jurist of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. And I’ve been a world citizen: I have lived in Japan, England, Bulgaria, France, The United States and México. I currently live in San Miguel de AlIende, México, with my family where I am the Director of Programs of the San Miguel Writers Conference.
Below is a snapshot of my personal timeline, filled with experiences you’ll find in my work.
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Backstory
I was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin and read voraciously as a child. I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. Here’s my first author photo at age two.
1998–2000
Japan and Vietnam
I moved to Japan to work as an English teacher. From Japan, I went to Vietnam to research the tunnels my father explored as a tunnel rat during the Vietnam war. After my trip, I began writing about the experience. Each afternoon, I went up to the library and wrote a few pages by hand. These early pages would eventually become my first book, Falling Through the Earth.
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2000–2002
Iowa Writers Workshop
With the pages I wrote in Japan, I was accepted to the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, where I was awarded an MFA in Fiction. I was a Maytag Scholar and Cullen Fellow.
2006
Falling Through the Earth
Falling Through the Earth, a memoir about my relationship with my father is published. I worked on this book for many years as a way to understand my father, Dan Trussoni. He died the month the book was published. My father’s picture was on the cover of The New York Times Book Review the same week his obituary appeared in the local paper. My need to write began with the urge to understand my father’s life, and my career began at the moment of his passing.
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2007
Best Book of the Year
My memoir Falling Through the Earth was chosen as one of the Ten Best Books of the Year and was widely reviewed. The legendary Maureen Corrigan reviewed the book on Fresh Air, I was interviewed on 60 Minutes, and my book won The Michener-Copernicus Society of America Fellowship. It was quite a year!
2010
Angelology
Four years later, my first novel, Angelology, is published. Translated into over 30 languages, Angelology becomes a New York Times and international bestseller. It was featured on the cover of The New York Times Book Review and was chosen as one of the Best 100 Books of the Year.
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2013
Angelopolis
Angelopolis, the sequel to Angelology, is published and becomes a New York Times bestseller.
“A stunning follow-up to the best-seller Angelology. . . Part historical novel, fantasy, love story, thriller, and mystery. . . It’s a must-read.” —Booklist (starred review)
2016
The Fortress
My second memoir is published. I wrote the entire first draft by hand in six narrow-ruled notebooks while living in the West Village of NYC. Listen to a discussion about the book in Life Stories.
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2018
Book Columnist
My tenure as a book columnist at The New York Times Book Review begins. Read some of my columns below:
A Dark Cavalcade of New Horror Fiction
Spine-Chilling and Flesh-Crawling: The Latest Horror Fiction
2020
The Ancestor
A novel that O Magazine called “One of the Best Gothic Novels of All Time” is published a few weeks after the pandemic lockdown begins. This novel about a woman who learns of a startling inheritance in the Italian Alps was inspired by a 23andMe DNA test that showed that I was less than 1% Italian. I grew up believing I was more Italian than that, and so it made me curious about the nature of inheritance and family secrets.
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2020-2021
Crypto-Z
During the pandemic, I began listening to audio dramas. I loved the idea of creating an immersive world with sound. Together with my husband, Hadrien Royo, I developed a ten part sci-fi audio drama called CRYPTO-Z.
2023
The Puzzle Master
My novel The Puzzle Master was released in June 2023 and was translated into 17 languages. It was chosen for the CBS New York Summer Book Club with Mary Calvi, was an IndieNext Pick and an Amazon Best Book of the Month. Henrietta Verma, veteran reviewer behind firstClue declared that it was “The best book I’ve ever read.” I appeared live on CBS New York to discuss my book.
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