As a Hungarian baroness growing up behind the Iron Curtain, Helga Hatvany's early life was shaped by conflicting worlds. Reciting Lenin's biography in Russian at school was as much a part of her childhood as visiting her grandfather in Paris and her grandmother in Rome. These luxurious summer vacations gave her a glimpse of the capitalist West, and a window to her aristocratic roots. In her early thirties, she moved to California with her American husband she had met in Budapest. They have been living in Canada since 2018. When not writing or translating, Helga can be found running along Vancouver's beautiful Seawall.