About Kasumi Sonoda 

Becoming a Storyteller

Sometimes little girls have to grow up fast. I did. Maybe you did too.

When I was eight, my siblings suffered a medical accident that left them sick—for years. Overnight I became a second mother. I learned to cook their special diet, change bedding, advocate for my non-verbal brother, and comfort myself when my parents were caring for them.

It was hard, but I discovered a secret weapon: Stories.

Stories could quiet my crying sister or make my frowning parents laugh. Best of all, stories gave me both an escape when I felt trapped by responsibility and a role model to imitate. (I share some of those childhood stories in my newsletter. *hint hint*)

When I was about eleven, my Grandpa Sonoda moved in with us. When I wasn’t working on Latin or math (I was homeschooled), you could find me in his room being fed oreos and stories.

He told of hiking up volcanoes in his Hawaiian homeland to pick mountain apples, of fighting with cows over scraps of pineapple, of stealing a horse to ride to a basketball game only to be kicked out for “smelling like a horse.”

Sometimes he told sad stories too. How his two older sisters had done most of his rearing because his family was poor and his mother was ill. How his people had been rounded up like criminals during WWII simply for being Japanese. How his wife had fled her own home and entire family to escape an ill-fated arranged marriage before she met my grandpa.

These stories spoke to me because he told them with pride because our family had suffered with courage and integrity, so whenever I felt the weight of responsibility or the nausea of self-doubt, I knew how to endure and I knew I could because they had. 

That’s the importance of heroes.
 

Becoming a Writer

I began writing novels in middle school. Throughout high school, I wrote an average of 15 hours a week. I poured every moral question, secret dream, and existential crisis into those stories. Deep down, I wished I could be an author, but I was afraid that would be irresponsible.

Then, a year and a half into covid/college, I learned about the Author Conservatory. They taught writing AND business, and their students were succeeding in the publishing world. My parents, who have always believed in my writing, encouraged me to give college a break and try my hand at publishing. That’s what I’m doing.

My heart is to write stories that will help you fight your good fight with courage and integrity like my grandpa. I blend the morally complex history of Japan with the colorful magic of Japanese folklore. My Japanese Fantasy novel (working title: “Kitsune”) is in revisions but has already received interest from multiple publishers.

I also have a short story (Chichi no Chickai) published in an Author Conservatory anthology.

Tsuki & Saburo by @zoebethersx

Sonoda Family Seal (It says Sonoda)

Kasumi and her bestie Tyboo.