Daughter of the Boricua follows a young Puerto Rican woman whose family is cursed, and they must rely on each other to work through the challenges the curse brings. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?

The inspiration is my own family. I come from a long line of strong and powerful matriarchs and an interesting lineage. I am directly related to Hernán Cortés and Isabella Moctezuma.

I heard many stories growing up about hardships and racism they faced so my books are loosely based on real experiences and stories.

Did you create an outline for the characters in the story before you started writing or did the character’s personalities grow organically as you were writing?

I allowed my characters to grow organically. I had a very loose outline but tried to be true to each character and what I believed their values were.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I wanted to talk about taboo subjects such as sexual exploitation of women, abuse, racism and slavery. I wanted to understand the indigenous and conqueror’s point of view and explore generational curses real and imaginary.

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

I will be working on the last book in the trilogy Songs of the Boricua and anticipate it being completed fall of 2024.

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