Blog Archives
A Reincarnation Series
INFINITY: Book of Matthew II follows a biracial couple who live in the Civil War era and the things they must do for their family to survive. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
I wanted to write something patriotic. Most writers focus on the Revolutionary War for that but as a black female, I never felt any sense of patriotism regarding the Revolutionary War. The Fourth of July only declared independence for white, land-owning, males. I went with a Civil War theme because that was the historical event that finally set this country on a path of liberty and justice for ALL.
How has character development for the main character changed for you through the series?
Infinity is a reincarnation series so there are massive changes in the main characters from book to book due to the massive changes in their circumstances from lifetime to lifetime. In The Fifth Bride of Pharaoh Matthew is a slave. In A Crown of Golden Leaves he’s the royal heir to the Roman Empire. Sarah is a princess in Quest for the Holy Grail. She’s a slave in Book of Matthew. Their personalities, motivations, and the actions they take are affected by the time period they live in, their stations in life, and the conflicts they endure. I believe we are the sum of our total past experiences. I wrote the Infinity series to reflect that.
What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?
Being excluded from popular culture. Books and film have come a long way but during my impressionable and vulnerable youth, I never saw characters who looked like me in the genres I enjoyed. I like fantasy, historical romance, suspense, and mystery. The main people who say inclusion doesn’t matter are the ones who benefit from such a bias. Naturally they cannot understand the amount of bullying the rest of us endure due to that bias. Even a fun holiday like Halloween used to be a nightmare for children of color. Other students and even adults are telling you what you can’t wear. “Don’t dress as a princess. Everyone knows all the princesses are white.” Because there was no Tiana, no Shuri, no Nakia.
“Don’t dress like an action hero. Everyone knows that action heroes are men.” Because there was no Angelina Jolie, no Charlize Theron, no Uma Thermon. “Don’t dress like a superhero.” Because there was no king T`Challa.
Growing up excluded from popular culture is an existence plagued by unrelenting racism where you are constantly dictated what you can’t wear, what you can’t do, and what you will never be when you grow up. The scariest part is that you would assume I was ninety years old given the lack of diversity I grew up with and the rampant discrimination I faced as a result. I am thirty-nine years old. I refused to allow this to be my daughter’s fate. So I write characters who look like me because every little girl deserves to feel like a princess.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
The newest Infinity is called A Winter Romance. Being in a noble family is nothing like the fairytales. A lavish life of privilege comes at detrimental costs. Villains with deadly intentions plot against Sarah, but Matthew will stop at nothing to protect his one true love in this thrilling winter romance.
This full length romantic suspense was published this week as part of the Déjà vu collection. It is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B94W93YR
Author Links: Barnes & Noble | BookBub | Website
Family First And Foremost
The Walshes follows a housewife who’s given a writing assignment to go undercover to investigate the sex industry in DC and finds it’s harder to get out then in. What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
As a young engineer back in the 70’s, I took a visiting contractor to dinner. At some point in our conversation he told me he was divorced and that he and his ex-wife had belonged to a group of swingers. The whole nine yards – porn, wife-swapping, etc. He ended by commenting that all of the couples in that group was divorced. That seemed like a good starting point for my second novel. But gentlemen’s clubs and prostitution seemed easier to deal with than a group of suburban swingers.
April Walsh is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind her character’s development?
April is a writer, mother and a housewife in that order. She has enjoyed more success as a mother and wife partly because she has suppressed her drive to succeed as a writer. She is very intelligent, curious and extraordinarily verbal. Law and politics have always been part of her life. When she gets “to know people who are getting a raw deal … [she comes] out swinging.” When pushed, she pushes back – her husband’s high handed reaction to her first outing as a topless dancer stiffens her resolve to go through with the project.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Family first and foremost. Joe and April’s marriage is the centerpiece but her large extended family plays a part. Her little brother Bill is her ally and best friend. Her mother is her rock. The family home is safe refuge. Mothers fighting for their children: Bridget is on a reform program so she can hang onto her children because her mother delivered an ultimatum. April let’s Joe have his divorce but she fights for custody of their children. Her mother proves formidable when she steps in to support April in the court battle. The questionable application of moral and ethical guidelines in borderline situations. Sexual conduct and misconduct are targets, of course, culminating with Eve declaring that she’s going to join the atheists so she doesn’t have to worry about Christian morals. Law and order in her debate with Jack over prostitution. Racist and sexist attitudes in our society. Attitudes toward guns.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I have just completed “MacGregor’s Final Battle” a fictionalized memoir. Mac gets a lot of history from my life but there are important differences. His wife has died and he has been informed that he has stage 4 brain cancer. He meets nurse Katherine Graham who decides that joining him will be a win-win situation. He needs her help and she will be able to escape her dead end life. Projected release date is early December 2022. I have started working on a Civil War Saga based on my great grandfather’s war experiences from 1861 thru June 1864. I would like to release the first volume in 2023.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Blog
Exit April, and enter Eve. She’s a glamorous dancer and escort who won’t back down from a fight. Her wit and charm make her highly desired at the local men’s club. As April embraces her Eve persona, she finds more and more to like about the new life. She enjoys feeling sexy and wanted. She makes new friends: a former call girl, a wise cab driver, and a hard-nosed cop. Will she be able to find her way out, or is April destined to sacrifice herself and her family for the sake of a story? Will the good wife or the firebrand emerge victorious?
When She Finally Took Flight
Gaining Her Strength follows a butterfly who learns that strength is more than just physical abilities, that everyone has different areas of strength to use. How did you come up with this idea and develop it into a story?
The first book in the series is about Laia’s birthmark. Laia, the Butterfly Princess, has a flame-like birth mark on her lavender wing. Her parents, King Papa and Queen Mama, were fearful that Swift Swallow would see her red birthmark and be tempted to gobble her up. So they pleaded with Laia to keep her wings shut tight. So for the first part of her life, Laia crawled along in the shadows, watching as all the other butterflies enjoyed flying in the meadow. Finally, one day, she decided that she did not want to hide in the forest anymore. She opened her wings and discovered that she rather liked her birthmark. When she finally took flight, Swift Swallow did not pursue her, for she was too quick for him. I, Alisa, have a red, flame-like birthmark on my right hand and arm. I used to be embarrassed by it, but I finally decided to see it in a different light. I realized that I, in fact, liked my birthmark because it made me unique. Once I wrote the story, I found out that my illustrator, Albert Morales, also has a dark birthmark on his right hand. It is interesting that the tools we use as creative people (our hands) have both been beautiful marked.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Albert Morales?
Albert Morales normally draws more masculine characters for comic books, like Wolverine, Spiderman, Venom, Fantastic Four, etc. However, we have known each other since we were kids, so I asked him if he could draw butterflies. Albert is an excellent artist who is always challenging his skills. He has illustrated numerous books for me, and he breathes life to my imagination with his art. I honestly think he can draw anything.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The first two books of the Butterfly Princess Series, Spreading Her Wings and Finding Her Friends, tackle topics on body differences, accepting others, and embracing how God designed each of us. In the third book, I wanted to show how being smart, innovative and fearless can be just as or even more powerful than physical strength. My hope is to illustrate to children that they can overcome great obstacles by working with others and thinking outside the box.
Will there be another book with Laia the Butterfly Princess, and if so, when will it be available?
Yes, I am writing the next one, Freeing Her Crown, which is slated for Winter/Spring 2023.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
The Bonds Between Women
Herencia Encantada follows a 17-year-old orphan girl who is stuck between the human and fairy world and struggles to avenge the death of her parents? What was the inspiration for the setup to your story?
Beyond the fantasy, adventure, and the dash of romance in “Herencia Encantada” you’ll find that it explores and highlights the bonds between women in a hybrid faery-human family, a clan very much like my own. And although this story is physically set in the western Pyrenees, on the border between France and Spain, the faerie realm depicted is inspired by scenery familiar to me, like the Andes mountains, in South America where I grew up, and beautiful Bear, Lake in Utah, where I lived for twenty years.
Celeste faces the challenges of being a teenager, an orphan and part of the fairy world. What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
PB: Celeste’s character arc is a beautiful one because throughout her growing pains, she chooses to follow her heart. She has a stubborn streak, a competitive nature, and she can be impulsive and selfish at times, but as her story progressed, the negativity in those traits was flushed away, laying bare the fulfilled, loving, bright individual she became. I hope Celeste’s story and her choices inspire readers of “Herencia Encantada” to always follow their hearts.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this coming of age and fantasy book?
Two things for sure: believing in ourselves, and the importance of family.
As the foundation of her future self, family influence is a critical aspect of this philosophical fantasy in which confidence allows our heroine to acknowledge and appreciate her family ties, while improving them and moving forward. When Celeste’s dual familyship is threatened, and when, at seventeen, her future seems muddled, she counts on her heart (full of human-faery love and wisdom) not to lead her astray.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Although I’m not writing a new novel, I do have two ongoing projects: I’m translating book 2 of the Faerie Legacy Series, Cradle Gift, into Spanish, and publication is slated for Summer 2023.
I am also evaluating cover and interior art for a children’s picture book, also in Spanish. I’m hoping to release this stardusted little treasure, “Polvo de Estrellas,” in time for Christmas 2022.
Author Links: GoodReads | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Pero los hechos revelados por su madre antes de morir desvían sus ilusiones.
Huérfana y ansiosa por tomar las riendas de su destino, Celeste vacila entre sus certezas de antaño y las nuevas.
¿Es la princesa humana que su madre formó o es el hada-humana que anhela ser?
¿Va a vengar a sus padres y honrar el compromiso de matrimonio que la espera en el mundo mortal o debe obedecer a su corazón y permanecer junto al extraño que acaba de entrar en su vida?
Celeste elige vengar la muerte de sus padres, incluso si eso significa reconocer el lugar que le corresponde en la dimensión humana.
Motivada por la princesa de las hadas, Nahia, y amparada por la Corte Luminosa y por su verdadero amor, Celeste se propone desenmascarar a la insidiosa hechicera Arantxa.
Confía en que nada impedirá su regreso triunfal a la Soberanía de las Hadas… Nada hasta que la identidad de su prometido es revelada.
The Power of True Love
Invisible Thread follows the lives of two families as they move through life and, through an unknown force, are being drawn together. Was there anything from your own life that you put into the characters in your novel?
A great deal of my autobiography is in the book. Part 1 is what I wish my life had been (minus the rape of Lindsay) and was inspired by a genuine friendship that is love but overcomes. Great obstacles. Part two is my true autobiography in the first three chapters. These events happened when I was a young child. The children’s and grandchildren’s experiences were based on some of my own children’s experiences, and some were made up.
What were themes vital for you to explore in this book?
The power of true love, no matter how impossible, can sustain the many challenges it has to overcome. This overcoming of life’s challenges was where the paranormal powers of Evan and Otelia came in.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
My sequel,” The Cure,” is in process. The same characters are in the book, but an unpleasant character is redeemed this time through his battle with terminal cancer.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
At first,each family occupies one part of the book, but near the end a connection is formed conjured up by two people who possess supernatural gifts, feeding out the invisible thread until it finds its home.
A Slow Burner
Hidden by the Dark follows a sheriff who’s investigating a series of murders and must find out who or what is causing them before it’s too late. Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing or did it come out organically as you were writing?
Yes, I approached the story with tone being central. I wanted to create a slow burner with a ton of tension.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
How people can rise above the evils in the world and care for one another.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
Dead In The Shadows (Pine Creek Thriller Book 2). It is out September 4th.
Author Links: Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Newsletter | Website
A sheriff and his deputy investigate several brutal murders in a coal mining community where fear and terror have struck. As the investigation continues, they piece together a shocking and terrifying puzzle that leads him to believe that the murders may be the work of a serial killer.
Or is it someone from out of town? Or worse yet, is there something even more sinister?
The murders seem to have no pattern or motive, leaving them struggling to find answers. With time running out, the sheriff must find the killer before he strikes again.
If you are a fan of Dean Koontz, James Rollins, Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, Stephen King, or Michael Crichton, you will love Hidden By The Dark.
This book is the first in the Pine Creek Thriller series.
My Own Experiences
Above Us: Cuando Miramos Hacia Arriba teaches children to look at the world around them and observe everything they can. What was the inspiration for your story?
My inspiration comes from different sources. First, I got inspired by my own experiences; as a child, I used to see the world through my dad’s car window. Then, one day, I realized how far everything looked, how big the buildings were, the trees, and even how far the sky was. Moreover, I have two super active daughters who like to play in the swing, reach the ceiling, and look at the sky at night. Finally, five years ago, I moved to Florida, and the beauty of his sky spires me to talk about nature and its interaction in our lives.
What inspired you to write a bilingual children’s book?
My family is bilingual. We speak Spanish and English all day at my house, so I thought why not? to write a book for other families like mine. We also read bilingual books to my daughters. I believe that reading is a very important skill that kids need to achieve at a young age, the development of the language and the connection with the parents during reading time is essential, so I wanted to present a book that invites families to read together.
The art in this book is fantastic. What was the art collaboration process like with illustrator Alvaro Agurto?
The illustration process was a little long but excited. Once I contacted Alvaro, he started working on the sketch. In the beginning, I shared with him some ideas I had, like simple illustrations or images for some pages while he was creating new scenarios, characters, and places. He had a clear idea about the perspective and angle of some images that had to look from above. Alvaro is very professional, patient and understanding. We were a good team because our communication was always respectful and positive.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
I am working on the opposite notion of “Above U” s; I am not sure about the title yet, and I hope to publish it next year.
Author Links: Amazon | GoodReads
2022 Literary Titan Book Award Winner
Have you ever asked yourself how children see the world above them?
What do they see, how do they feel, or what do they like that is above them?
From a high five to a look up to the sky, this story narrates a particular view of the world and what surrounds us. In this book, you will find beautiful descriptions of common situations that will allow children to learn and improve in language proficiency.
Ganador del premio del libro 2022 Firebird – Bilingüe/Idioma Dual (para niños)
¿Alguna vez te has preguntado cómo ven los niños el mundo que está sobre ellos?, ¿qué es lo que pueden ver en él?, ¿cómo se sienten al mirarlo?, o ¿qué les gusta más sobre lo que pueden encontrar al mirar hacia arriba?
Actividades tan simples como chocar los cinco hasta ponerse a contemplar el cielo. Esta historia narra un punto de vista particular del mundo y de todo lo que nos rodea. En este libro podrás encontrar cómo situaciones de la vida diaria son descritas de una manera hermosa, lo que permitirá que los niños puedan aprender y desarrollar el dominio del idioma.
Things Can Be Overcome
Destiny Lives on Fairhaven Street is a sentimental memoir detailing your eight year preparation to return to the love of your life. Why was this an important book for you to write?
It was important for several reasons, but I think there are two primary ones:
1) The first is my boys, Collin and Maximus. One of my goals throughout my life, from the point of
meeting Danielle to the time after our reunion was to make sure she and my children never had to experience what I went through with abuse. This was accomplished, but I realized as I got older that ending the cycle was only half the battle. Obviously I’m not going to be around forever, and ending the cycle means nothing if the next generation starts it back up after I’m gone. The only way to accomplish that was for them to feel with it was like without it actually happening to them. I had to make it as raw and graphic as I could pull from memory to get the point across so they can see why I made the decisions I made. This is no different with whomever reads it. The shock value drives home the point. But the most important message the book has is that such things can be overcome and the future you’ve always wanted is always possible, even if the road getting there doesn’t go the quite way you thought it would.
2) The second was for Danielle. Even at ten years old, I had found my match. She was my better half who always believed that I would be nothing like my father, so much so that she wanted to marry me when we grew up.
I knew as I was forced away from her that I needed to do something to show her how much I still loved her. It had to be something huge, something most men would never do. So, I decided that I would not date anyone until I was able to get back to her. I wore my half of the half-heart pendant and never took it off for eight years until I was able to return to her. I also broke 100 years (three generations) of abuse for her. It was when I went to Paris that I figured out the best way to show her how much she meant to me was to write a novel about it. My goal was to return, have us get to know each other again over time, and when the time was right to tell her everything…that she had been right about me all along (about not being like my father) and my heart was always hers and hers alone.
The cool thing is that now I can tell her that our story has become an award-winning novel. (which it has already won three…with more to come)
I appreciated how candid you were in the book. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
It’s difficult to really put a finger on which part was the hardest, because the whole journey was hard. From the abuse, to leaving her and the loneliness that came with the eight years that followed, it was all challenging to paper. I had to re-write the entire novel eight times over four years using only an Iphone, which meant re-living the whole thing over and over…but I did it.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
First love never dies. Even if life takes the two of you in different directions, the love you have for each other will always remain, no matter how many years go by.
It’s okay for men to sacrifice for the right woman. It’s okay for them to do something crazy, like willingly sacrifice 1/10 of their life for them just to show them how much they are loved. I’ve met other men both online and in person who were in similar circumstances, but they felt compelled by society to stay quiet because it wasn’t a “manly thing to do”. The manliest thing to do is to love someone and not be ashamed to admit it. That’s something I want my boys to learn.
What do you hope is one thing readers take away from your story?
Your future is not dictated by your past. The person you are destined to become is the one you choose to be.
BTW, the book launches on New Year’s Eve this year. Thanks!
LITERARY TITAN 