Naomi Hirahara is an award-winning novelist and social historian. She has written two mystery series. Her long-distance relationship with her boyfriend survived and she’s been married to him for almost 17 years. They make their home with their Jack Russell, Tulo, in Pasadena, CA. For more information, go to Naomi’s website, naomihirahara.com.

Finding Soy Sauce and Sensibility in Wichita, Kansas
By Naomi Hirahara

I FELL IN LOVE WITH GRACE, feeling the tentacles of its inexplicable love invade me when I needed it most. Especially when I was 8, when I had accidentally injured a boy at my Japanese-language school.