Waka is a Stanford graduate with a B.A. in International Relations and a Master’s in Secondary Education. She has authored the following award-winning children’s books through Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins Children’s Books:

Perfect (illustrated by Yuko Jones) is her debut picture book.
Rick Kotani’s 400 Million Dollar Summer, received a star from Kirkus Reviews and published on Feb. 18, 2025
The Very Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura (2023) is a contemporary re-imagining of the Japanese folktale, “The Melon Princess and the Amanjaku.”
Dream, Annie, Dream (2022) is her first work of historical fiction.
While I Was Away (2021) is her debut novel.