From the time she walked away from the tortured captives, she never has a moment that is not recorded in the book of their collective memory. Their w… - Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Remember the time before the hurting, for that's where the healing lives. Find the joy of the before and know you can find it again. You have a big heart and there are many paths to healing.

I couldn't write my stories without the constant presence of my ancestors who await me in my dreams and my meditations, whispering their stories and reminding me of what I have forgotten. This book is dedicated to them because their stories have lived for too long under the waters of the Caribbean, unrecognized and in imposed silence.
Let there be light to illuminate as-yet-to-be-told truths.

Like most of us, emerging writers will only succeed through hard work and the humility to accept that they don't have all the answers. My advice is this: read, read, read. The artists who came before you worked really hard, paid their dues and solved problems as they went along. Some of them died never having received the honors they so merited. You have the benefit of their work. Study them. How did they create believable and compelling characters? How can you tell a story when your narrator is unreliable? How can the setting enhance the lives of the characters you have created? How do you choose which details to include and which to omit? How can you find fresh and evocative language? These are all important questions when writing your story. Don't try to reinvent the wheel when there is so much help out there if you only learn from those who took this journey before you. Instead, study them carefully, decide what you like and don't about every novel you read. And keep writing and keep reading. In the process you will find your own voice and, perhaps, become the next new literary genius.