Helen Noga

Helen Noga was born in California, the daughter of Haig and Queenie Safarjian, Armenian immigrants, and spent her childhood on the family vineyards and fruit farms in the San Joaquin Valley. It was her mother's family reminiscences that first inspired the story of Ayisha.

Since those days, Mrs. Noga has had a varied career, which has included operation of San Francisco's famous jazz clubs, Blackhawk and Downbeat, where she and her husband discovered Johnny Mathis and other entertainment personalities. The writing of Ayisha is the realization of a lifelong dream.