I love the African proverb “you’ll never know what happened on the hunt until you speak to the lion.” I think many readers realize that, for the most… - Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Being a daughter of very strong Afro-Puerto Rican rural women, I could never understand the stereotype of the submissive, defeated woman who had no options and no power. I was surrounded by monumentally powerful and talented women who never got a chance to showcase their potential outside their homes and their communities. I got a good taste of it as a child in my South Bronx community. When I was sent to Puerto Rico during my formative years, ties to the past were solidified and I had a better understanding of where I came from and what gifts had been bequeathed to me. Those women who came before me didn't have the option of sharing their stories in public, but thanks to their sacrifices, I could, and I do share the stories with a much broader audience. Writing gave me a vehicle for bringing readers into the world I grew up in.

We all carry our nightmares in unspoken places. The details are different, but the outcome is the same. They want to steal our humanity, to ease the weight into their own souls. Don't you let them. Don't give them one piece of you they can't take. Don't you become the empty vessel they want to believe you are.

If you can put your ego aside, rejection can help you grow a very thick skin, which you will need to defend your creative universe. Chances are that no publisher is holding his breath waiting for your work to make him immensely rich. There are too many variants in the publishing world and most of us don't have the juice to command instant literary stardom. If you do, that's fabulous. Congratulations. But for the rest of us, we'll need to be strong and believe in our vision enough to withstand the naysayers.