Background
Sharfeddin was born Heather Mason in remote Rosebud County, Montana to a forester father and an artist mother.
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Heather Sharfeddin
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Her novels explore western themes based on her early life in Idaho and Montana. She currently lives in Oregon where she teaches Creative Writing at Linfield College. In 1968, the Mason family moved to Riggins, Idaho on the Salmon River and later to nearby Lucile, where they lived in the remodeled Cow Creek pioneer schoolhouse.
Sharfeddin remembers visiting such legendary places on the Salmon River as the Shepp Ranch and the Polly Bemis home, which were inaccessible by automobile.
In 1977 Lynn Mason moved the family to East Lansing, Michigan where he obtained his masters degree in forestry at Michigan State University. They were happy to return west to Missoula, Montana in 1979.
Sharfeddin attended Hellgate Junior High and Big Sky High School, graduating in 1984. She moved to Portland, Oregon in 1986.
Heather Sharfeddin holds an Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
She is currently a doctoral student in Creative Writing, researching the nuance of inter-racial relationships and cultural conflicts in literature. Riggins Mayor Bob Crump declared Wednesday, April 6, 2011, as "Heather Mason Sharfeddin Day". In honor of the author"s visit to sign her books
