About the Author

A self-proclaimed former-Slytherin-turned-Gryffindor, L. J. Long knew she wanted to tell stories the moment she tried reenacting the dragon-slaying scene from Sleeping Beauty at the age of three—armed with only a plastic butter knife and a window curtain. Growing up, writing and performing became both her escape and her armor against the darkness of a broken world. 

As a second-generation Chinese-American and recovering overachiever, L. J. Long was an honor student and Junior Olympic swimmer who attended Chinese school religiously. But under the crushing weight of perfectionism, she eventually cracked and rebelled against cultural norms to attend New York University and earn her B.F.A. in Drama, diving into the world of indie film & theater. 

In the urban jungle of NYC, she honed her storytelling craft and studied scriptwriting, all while steadily losing her Chinese vocabulary… and herself, to a personal hell of never quite feeling accepted or good enough. 

When God first reached down into that darkness, L had an identity crisis and ran in the opposite direction. Stepping away from the world of performance entirely, she wandered and was lost “in the wilderness” for years until—like Frodo hanging over the edge of Mount Doom before grabbing onto Sam’s hand—she finally chose to take Christ’s hand and let Him lead her through the redemption arc she never could’ve written for herself.

Today, L. J. Long has reclaimed her role as a writer and professional actor. Having met her husband and traveled the world together, she has rediscovered both the joys of Chinese culture and her love for the water. She’s finally living and telling the stories she was born to tell—and she hasn’t looked back since.