After a dozen years of writing grant proposals, marketing brochures, newsletters, press releases, business speeches, and other forms of corporate fiction, Lissa Lee wrote her first novel, Empress of Gold Mountain.  In this historical saga, she explores experiences from her own life growing up in a small Midwestern town before leaving home.  The novel is filled with emotions and themes such as longing, ambition, naiveté, lust, betrayal, discovery, and the ambiguity of living between two cultures. 

Formerly a writer,  researcher, and consultant for cultural and historical organizations – among them, KCET Public Television, East West Players Theatre, Los Angeles Conservancy, and the Historical Society of Southern California – the author proclaims a love of rain, horses, and "conflicted men."  Lee currently resides in Los Angeles, California, with her two dogs, two cats, and too many fish to count.  She is currently working on a sequel/prequel.