Kiran Bains Sahota was born around the thick orchards and the blooming almond blossoms of Northern California. Inspired by her town of diverse voices and rich natural surroundings, Bains uses storytelling to speak on the cultural realities facing South Asian communities and often explores the qualities of the human condition that sustain life. She earned her BA in English from UC Berkeley while working with authors Robert Hass and Joyce Carol Oates. On a summer abroad, she also studied fiction writing at Oxford University, studying Tolkien and Lewis Carroll, among other prominent English authors. Bains is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing in fiction at Saint Mary’s College of California and is working on her first novel. Her work has been in issues of the Cosumnes River College Journal, College Magazine, The Appeal Democrat, Dear Quarantine Diary, as well as her own site, SunsetDahlia.com.