Born March 16, 1952, in New York City, Alice Hoffman grew up on Long Island and graduated from Adelphi University. She later attended Stanford University, earning a Master of Arts in creative writing. Hoffman has authored more than 30 novels, most notably Practical Magic (which was adapted into a film), in addition to three works of short fiction and eight children’s and young adult books. Many of these have been adapted into films or miniseries, and her works have been translated into more than 20 different languages. Furthermore, her shorter fiction and nonfiction works have appeared in various publications, including Ploughshares, The New York Times, and Harvard Review.

Hoffman is known for her use of magical realism—a mixture of magical elements with the everyday world in a way that makes magic seem natural. In Blackbird House, Hoffman weaves in autobiographical elements as well. Using her own farm on Cape Cod as inspiration, Hoffman first wrote a story for the Boston Globe that later became a chapter in the novel. In fact, she believes that her farm, called “Sweet Pea,” may be haunted by ghosts. In an interview, she shared another similarity: