Anna S. Kashina is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, as well as a writer. Originally from Moscow, Russia, she graduated from Moscow State University, and moved to the United States in 1994 and has been living there ever since.
She published her first fantasy novel, The Princess of Dhagabad, which is the first of “The Spirits of the Ancient Sands” trilogy, in 2000. The book is about a romance between an Arabian princess and her djinn who in turn becomes her slave, teacher and steadfast companion. Kashina has published two other books in Russia, one under the pen name Ann Porridge. The Princess of Dhagabad was her first English-language publication.