About the Author:

Joan Alden, a graduate of Ohio State University and the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in New York, didn’t begin writing until she was 34 years old, working backstage at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco.  Two years later, she published her first novel, Mrs. Cooper’s Boardinghouse.  Alden’s second novel, Letting in the Night was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for Fiction.  A Boy’s Best Friend, her children’s book that was illustrated by her partner, was selected for the Rainbow Curriculum in New York State.  After publication of Alden’s third novel, Before Our Eyes, Alden didn’t write for fifteen years. When I First Knew is Alden’s fourth novel.  In addition to this book, she has a memoir, Her Widow, that will be published later this year, and she is currently working on a play.  Alden was born in Detroit Michigan in 1944, before the words Gay and Lesbian were a part of our lexicon.  In 1969, the year of Stonewall and at the age of 25, Alden came out to her family, friends, and the world.  She now lives in Sarasota, Florida.