We Could Be Beautiful (Huntley)

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1984
• Raised—La Jolla, California, USA
• Education—B.A., Eckerd College; M.F.A. Columbia University
• Currently—lives in northern California and Hawaii


Swan Huntley's debut novel, We Could Be Beautiful, came out in 2006. She wrote the book while living in a commune in Brooklyn (New York City) and working as a nanny for a well-off couple in SoHo. Huntley grew up in La Jolla, California, and attended Eckerd College in Florida, which also happens to be Dennis Lehane's alma mater. From there she headed to New York, where she attained an M.F.A. in creative writing at Columbia University.

Huntley knew she wanted to be a writer from a very young age:

One important moment that happened in my childhood was when I was in the fourth grade at Bird Rock (elementary school). I was very preoccupied about the state of the environment at the time, and I had written something about the rain forest. The teacher said, “You’re going to be a writer” or “You are a good writer.” I’m not sure which. But what I do remember is he said it with such feeling. And I heard him.

(Author bio adapted from The San Diego Tribune.)