Sasha Schwenk is a first-time author, although she has written many florid phrases in journals and letters, kept a travel blog during a grand European tour, and has been known to fire off a concise email. She's a former cheesemonger (a curd nerd, if you will), and current bird nerd, living in Portland, Oregon. She has binoculars on her at all times, in case of emergency birding.