Occupation: Writer, Teacher, MFA Candidate
Instagram: @daniellesinay

Where were you born? 
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, 
California!

What is unique about your work? 
Other than aggressively abusing 
parenthetical? 
I think my honesty and willingness to 
discuss what nobody wants to. My writing
is very personal; I tend to address 
women’s rights and gender equality, ie. 
sexual-assault, body image, general 
fury towards the patriarchy…. And nobody
wants to hear it. But I discovered a 
loophole! I disguise said tragic issues 
as some form of twisted humor and 
self-deprecation, and it makes people 
laugh (because people are disturbing), 
distracting them just enough to get 
them to pay attention. If all goes 
well, maybe they’ll learn something. 
Or just laugh at me. Whatever.
OMG see, I abused a parenthetical. 

Why do you do what you do? 
I’ve loved writing since I was a baby; 
I came out the womb with a quill pen. 
Just kidding. But really, I have loved 
writing since I was a very tiny human. 
It all began when I wrote my first 
‘novel’ in third grade. It was called 
‘The Valentine’s Locket,” and I’ve been 
sentenced to the life of a writer 
ever since.
Is it lame to say I feel like I 
“have to?” Because I really do. 
Especially now with the internet, 
writing is a more powerful medium than 
ever. 
Anything an artist or writer produces 
is accessible within minutes. 
If you’re like me and have a specific 
message you want to get out there - you 
can, everywhere, immediately. I think 
people take that for granted. But 
it’s so cool, and makes it all worth it.

What inspires you? 
The women in my life. My sister, my mom,
my grandma, and all of my best friends. 
They inspire me to be better, to work 
harder, to love myself. Because if they 
can do it, so can I. (I can’t be the 
disappointing friend who ends up 
looking the worst in group photos.)

Describe your personal style. 
According to my friend Jessica: 
“A cross between a fifteen year old 
Brandy Melville model and a soccer mom 
from Connecticut.” I concur.

Your ultimate must-have. 
AQUAPHOR. It’s a life-saver. And I’m 
sure if I was stranded on an island 
on the verge of death I could eat it or 
something. Should I have said a book? 
That would just be a lie though. I’m 
sorry. You can read the label. I’m a 
fraud.

What superpower would you have and why? 
Egg-frying, party-planning, eating 20+ 
chicken wings and not dying. 
Because those are the things I am best 
at. And maybe hearing my dogs’ thoughts, 
which I am not good at, but would like 
to be.

What is next for you? 
I’m graduating with my Master’s in 
Creative Nonfiction next week(!) so 
I’ll go through the post-grad-freak out 
for a month or two. I’ll keep writing, 
of course, and hopefully go back to 
teaching. My ultimate goal is to become 
a college professor, but in the meantime,
 I’d love to keep working with kids. 

…And eventually make the questionable 
life choice of pursuing a PhD.