LaVonne Griffin-Valade was born and raised in the high desert country along the John Day River of eastern Oregon-a place that stoked her imagination and inspired her to become a lifetime writer of short stories, essays, poetry, and novels. She has worn many professional hats: elementary school teacher, mentor, education equity advocate, and Auditor of the City of Portland. Griffin-Valade has published essays and pieces of fiction in multiple publications including the Oregon Humanities Magazine and the Clackamas Literary Review. After receiving her MFA from Portland State University in 2017 she moved to fiction writing. LaVonne lives in Portland, Oregon and works as a full time writer. Dead Point, the first book in the Maggie Blackthorne series, is her debut novel.
