How 59 Books, 128 Songs, and 83 Cultural References Became One Magical Realism Story.

This week I finally completed my debut novel, Broken Melody, turned it in to the editor at Koehler Books, and met with the cover designer who loves “flora, fauna, … and the whimsy of imagination and fantasy.” Here is my evolution journey.

Fifteen Easy Steps to Writing a Soul-Wrenching Novel:

1.      Spend 20 years saying, “I’m going to write a book someday.”

2.      Complete Interdisciplinary Masters Degree in writing, educational leadership and healthcare

business with a promise to never stop writing. Add a Certificate in Creative Writing from UCLA because learning is a lifelong endeavor and some stories demand the deepest possible craft.

3.      See a milestone birthday approaching and realize, I still haven’t told the story of spiritual evolution that no one else can tell. I better get started.

4.      Declare my intention to write the book at KM Cookie first Sparkle Party! Celebrate completion at the second Sparkle Party—though that was three drafts ago. More Sparkle Parties to come!

5.      Take a memoir class and realize, my life is “boring” unless you’re Michelle Obama, BUT find a writing accountability partner who becomes my literary guardian angel, talking me off several book ledges.

6.      Write grants to bring communication and team building to healthcare, become a growth mindset subject matter expert, publish academic articles, and still no novel. Meanwhile, the ancestors are whispering: “Your story is waiting.”

7.      Take Tempany Deckert’s “Write a Novel in 10 Weeks Course” and finally understand: I don’t just want to write A story—I need to write THE story that bridges Mayan, Garifuna, Caribbean, Christian, Daoist, and Native American spiritual wisdom. 100 pages with a beginning, middle, and end emerge.

8.      Discover my identity through James Clear’s Atomic Habits: I AM a writer, not someone who wants to write. Establish sacred writing time: 5am-7am every morning, celebrating each session with my “Stone on a Tray” ritual.

9.      Study Scrivener, Lisa Cron’s Story Genius, studying the Three Act Structure, Save the Cat, KM Weiland’s character arcs, diving deep into my protagonist Terri’s internal struggle of misbelief, the spiritual journey from pain to empowerment—discovering that her growth mirrors humanity’s need for multicultural healing.

10.  Write drafts 2, 3, and 4 under the guidance of my Master’s degree mentor Jack Gist, who gave actionable feedback that honored both craft and the sacred nature of the story.

11.  Painstakingly replace 5,408 straight quotation marks with smart quotes because there is no fast find and replace function— even punctuation must honor the ancestors’ wisdom.

12.  Collaborate with visionary photographers to create 30 black and white images as chapter headings: @rom.boi.foto @ms.dlt.studio @pablogarciaphotographybz @annie.caplan.photography - each image capturing the visual poetry of cultural fusion.

13.  Honor the responsibility: When you write about cultures beyond your own birth experience, do so with reverence, research and collaboration. Weave together researched cultural references through the backdrop of music, poetry and literature that crosses cultures and continents, bringing us together—drums, guitar solos, ballads, rock and reggae—catching dreams and weaving a glimpse into the tapestry of human wisdom.

14.   Partner with Koehler Books Publishing and prepare for the world to experience “Broken Melody”—not just another novel about healing, but a literary bridge between worlds. Sometimes what you learn your lessons when you least expect them. That moment when the ancestors’ wisdom meets a mother’s fierce determination—that’s where transformation lives.

15.  Write, rewrite, practice and memorize the logline for the literary fiction magical realism novel “Broken Melody”:

When her son is kidnapped in the Caribbean, Terri must navigate mystical forces and unexpected betrayal to rescue him, discovering her path from pain to empowerment lies in the healing power of music.

Why This Story Matters Now

In our fractured world, "Broken Melody" offers something revolutionary: a roadmap for healing that honors multiple spiritual traditions simultaneously. It shows that healing isn't about choosing one path - it's about weaving the sacred wisdom of many cultures into a melody of hope.

Coming Soon: The cover reveal that will capture this multicultural spiritual odyssey!

What stories are the ancestors whispering to you? Areyoucreating?

P.S. If you're curious about the 59 books that influenced this story, the 30 images that grounded the chapters, the 128 songs that provided its rhythm, or the 83 cultural references that make it authentically multicultural, stay tuned. This novel is just the beginning of authentic conversations about how literature can heal our divided world.