Punk Fiction Author Lisa Czarina Michaud

Despite the Russian-French names, I am actually neither. Nor am I a salad dressing. I'm a born and raised New Yorker with Italian, Irish and Mexican origins and proudly come from a family of food and music. When I wasn't slicing bread at my maternal family's Italian Market in the Village, I was spending my paycheck at record shops and every so often would stumble across my paternal family's quirky album from the '60s released on ESP-Disk Records with a young Chick Corea on the keys and cowbell.

At 13, I discovered the music that continues to define me. At 14, I got kicked out of CBGB for being underage. At 15, I cut off all my hair for my first (and not last) Locks of Love donation. At 16 and 17, I interned for the Beastie Boys' Grand Royal label. At 18, I moved to Olympia WA where I earned three, quite possibly four evaluations from The Evergreen State College before stumbling into adulthood in Los Angeles where I supported myself with extra work and waiting tables, before moving back to New York to work for Marc Jacobs.

In 2009, I followed in the footsteps of my jazz singer grandmother Stella Levitt (née Aguilar) and moved to Paris with no plan and no money. There, I began writing about life in France and publishing work in various publications while nannying, proofreading papers and tutoring English at Starbucks or in parks. I butcher the French language with my New York accent on a daily basis and have full conversations with my cat.

It's been a ride and I'm here to write about it.

I currently live outside of Paris with husband, son and sassy cat, Le Tigre.

Slanted and Disenchanted is my first novel. Somewhere in Hollywood is the continuation....