A graduate of ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, she has spent more than two decades working as a creative director while maintaining a deep fascination with fine art.

Her love of Rembrandt extends beyond his paintings to the people who surrounded him—the apprentices, patrons, collectors, and especially his daughter, Cornelia, whose largely untold story became the inspiration for this novel. Through research into seventeenth-century Amsterdam, Dutch art, and Rembrandt's work, Irene sought to imagine the world through Cornelia's eyes, blending historical fact with richly imagined fiction.

When she is not writing, Irene and her husband devote their time to restoring and preserving historic buildings, believing that every old structure—and every forgotten story—deserves a second chance. Their work reflects the same appreciation for history, craftsmanship, and legacy that fills the pages of her novels.