Hena Khan
The story for a lot of authors goes that they were avid writers in their youth, or that they always knew a pen and paper would be significant to them and their future careers. Hena Khan tells a different story:
Honestly, when I was a kid I had no idea I could be an author. I never met an author or even thought they were regular, living people.
On the other hand, Khan does share a childhood love of literature with many of those who did aspire to authorship as kids. She remembers trips to the library with her mother, who largely encouraged her reading habits. To her, books are more important the younger you are, or at least as she wrote on her website:
The books I connected with as a child left a bigger impression on me than almost anything I come across today. I still think of the characters, stories, and random facts that I absorbed years ago. That's why I love writing for kids—in the hopes that they'll pick up something I write more than once, and let it become part of who they are.
To explore more, visit the Hena Khan website.