About Author Malissa Mays

Malissa Mays is the author of Where Goodness Grows. Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, she discovered early the power of compassion and empathy through the guidance of her late grandfather, a pillar in Columbus’s tight-knit Laotian community. She later graduated from the Art Institute of Ohio–Cincinnati, where she honed her love for creativity, art, and storytelling.

After living in Denver, Colorado, for over a decade, she returned home to Ohio, where she now lives with her two boys. Drawing inspiration from her Buddhist upbringing and the lessons of kindness passed down through her family, Malissa Mays creates stories that nurture hearts and connect communities. She loves sharing the things she creates, with the hope that her work plants seeds of empathy, wonder, and joy in readers.