Hi, my name is Kirsten! I was born in Delft in 1997. I have an older brother, a sister and a twin sister. I got a Bachelor's degree in Japanese Studies and a Master's degree in East Asian Studies at Leiden University. I focus mainly on history, especially literary and art history, and my favorite period in Japanese history is the Edo period (1600-1868). That's why I use this as the basis for the countries of ÅŒkoku and Ginkoku in Shirareta Sekai. I have a special place in my heart for the Japanese puppet theater and the amazing plays written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in particular (you can find my theses on that subject on my articles page).
Japan is overigens niet mijn enige interesse, en ook zeker niet de enige die terug te vinden is in mijn boek. Ik houd van talen, geschiedenis en culturen in het algemeen en heb een liefde voor het oude Egypte meegekregen van mijn zus (een grote Egypte-fan). Ik wilde zelfs Egyptoloog worden, voordat ik Japans begon te leren! Verder heb ik interesse in filosofie, muziek, psychologie, geneeskunde en kunst. Ik houd zelf dan ook veel van tekenen. Andere hobby’s van mij zijn lezen, zingen, dansen en (natuurlijk) schrijven.
I often started writing stories as a child, but never found the motivation to finish them until I wrote the first version of "The Return of Layhar" in 2012. Since then, I rewrote it several times and changed it drastically until the idea - courtesy of my editor Kelly van der Laan – finally came into its own in the final product that is now available. Read more about my books at About Shirareta Sekai and check out my articles for Blog posts and background information (^ ^)