Kleya Forté-Escamilla was born in Calexico, California, and grew up in southwestern Arizona and in Baja California, Mexico. "I have traveled past the crossroads y mis zapatos todavía tienen mucha suela (and my shoes still have a lot of leather)!" She has a B.A. in Art, another in French/Philosophy, and an M.A. in Creative Writing. Forté-Escamilla has written two novels, Daughter of the Mountain (written under the name Edna Escamill, and also published by Aunt Lute Books), and Mada: An Erotic Novel (Sister Vision, 1994). She also has a collection of short stories, The Storyteller with Nike Airs and Other Barrio Stories (Aunt Lute Books, 1994). Her work has appeared in journals and several anthologies for fiction. She received the Astraea Foundation Award for excellence in Lesbian and Gay Literature in 1993.