Christina Skye

She was born in Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A., and was a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Adam Helmer. She attended the University of Pennsylvania and obtained a doctorate in classical Chinese literature at Ohio State University, where she learned to speak fluent Chinese, French, and Japanese. Later, she worked as translator and as a consultant to the National Geographic Society and the American Museum of Natural History. She lived on the western slopes of McDowell Mountains in Arizona.