DENISE DERYA BRANDT worked in international development for more than twenty years and led women’s health projects in Afghanistan, Liberia, and Myanmar before becoming a published author. A Book Incubator graduate, 2024 Women’s Fiction Writers Association Rising Star Award finalist, and 2025 Poets & Writers Publicity Incubator Fellow, Denise has degrees from Arizona State and London School of Economics. As a Turkish-American, she claims she can fool tourists but not taxi drivers! Raised in Arizona, Denise now lives in Northern Kentucky with her husband.