Shyamali Perera was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and emigrated to the United States in 1989, during Sri Lanka’s civil war. She was an educator of young children for thirty years in Orange County, California. Her first book Curry & Rice was published as a Mother's Day gift in 2007 and was later published as an e-book in 2014. Since then she has published several cookbooks and children's books available both in ebook and paperback versions. Shyamali is also an amateur photographer and likes to make beautiful books with inspiring ideas. Presently, she lives with her family in Southern California and continues to dedicate her time to writing a variety of cookbooks and children's books.