Before
You Ask

Rebecca Valli was born in a small village outside Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, where her grandmother made pasta by hand every Sunday and argued about everything else. She grew up between two languages and two cultures, which she believes is the best possible education for anyone who wants to write about the human heart.

She came to the United States in her twenties, settled in the Pacific Northwest, and has been here long enough to know that Seattle in November is its own kind of beautiful. She lives near the water with strong opinions about coffee, an unreasonable number of books, and a deep conviction that the most interesting people are always the ones sitting alone at the back of the room.

Before You Ask is her first novel.