BOOK

My first book, The Adventures of Amazing Grace, is now available for purchase!

Third grader, Grace, and new student, Mia, discover the thrill of flying, face their fears to help their friend Adrian, and learn about the ties that bind families together in this chapter book that targets eight- to ten-year-old readers.  Amazing Grace includes multi-generational family dynamics, Spanish customs and vocabulary with an accompanying glossary, and a dash of magical realism.

The inspiration for The Adventures of Amazing Grace came from a dream. A few years after my mother passed away from pancreatic cancer, I dreamt that  I showed my mom that I could hover over a puddle. My mom responded, “That’s wonderful! Watch this!” and flew up to the ceiling of a great auditorium. Then she taught me how to fly higher and further than I ever thought possible in that dream.

The next evening, my eight-year-old daughter, Sophia, asked me to tell her a bedtime story. I began, “There once was a girl named…”, “Grace!” my daughter interrupted. “And Grace realized she could fly…” I continued.

Our bedtime story ended up lasting weeks, and at some point, Sophia begged me to write it all down. I would race to the computer every night after my daughter fell asleep to capture the story in writing. The next year was spent writing and editing, sharing and receiving feedback from beta readers, and finally bringing this story to life in The Adventures of Amazing Grace.

In reading other books with my daughter, I noticed the lack of positive, exciting stories for this age group that feature strong female protagonists and healthy friendships. I also realized how underrepresented children that had grown up in bilingual households are in children’s literature.

This book is the first in a planned series in which children follow along as Grace, Mia and Adrian discover family secrets and their own special gifts. The second book is currently in production. Follow the journey on Instagram!