Dreams Do Come True

I'm thrilled to announce that BROKEN MELODY will be published by Koehler Books!

The Journey That Led Here

As a child, I devoured every book in our house, then spent lunch hours in the school library with Judy Blume, Sybil, Philip K. Dick, Beloved, The House of the Spirits, and Like Water for Chocolate. In college, I got my first A+ by rewriting an ending to explore Korsakoff's syndrome—the first seeds of an author were germinating.

But the real transformation came when I was walking the halls of Long Beach City College, trying to rebuild my life after leaving nursing school, unable to physically concur 12-hour clinical rotations. That's when Frank X Gaspar, an American Portuguese author & poet, literally walked up to me: "I only have 8 students. If I don't get 10, they'll cancel my novel writing class. Can you register?"

"I've never thought seriously about writing. I'm just a reader."

"Join us. You'll learn."

First class: "Find a spot in your mind. Picture it clearly and begin describing it. That's it. As you write, the story will reveal itself."

That was decades ago. 400+ pages later...

I began writing on discarded scrap paper from my job selling computers to physicians. I graduated from a traditional typewriter to that word processor that allowed me to correct mistakes—to write and rewrite the memories and experiences in my head. Words are powerful. Mistakes can be rewritten.

BROKEN MELODY is a magical realism novel that weaves Caribbean folklore with Mayan mysticism, exploring the transformative power of maternal love, betrayal, sacrifice, and spiritual awakening.

When Terri's son is taken to Belize, her journey through sacred caves and ancient traditions becomes something far deeper than rescue—a reckoning with the true nature of power, pain, and what it means to emerge transformed.

From that shy reader in the library to scrap paper and an extinct word processor, learning that mistakes can be rewritten, to published author with Koehler Books—sometimes the most important journeys begin with someone believing in your potential.

Thank you, Frank Gaspar, for seeing the writer in the reader. What are you creating?

Coming soon...