Santa Fe: A Piece of 'Mi Vida'
The 88,000-word novel is a horror driven story about a young boy, Santiago, set in New Mexico. Early one morning Santiago gives in to his curiosity and decides to follow his older brother Billy into the night. A ghastly train emerges from a surreal fog and his brother Billy climbs aboard. He follows Billy aboard. The train lurches backwards in time and begins a horrific historical journey into his familial past. From that night forward, he lives in two worlds. One lived during the day and the other at night. Santiago has little or no control in either. During the day his life is immersed in violence, heartbreak, and pain. During the night, his nightmares are driven by his ancestral legacy.
The essence of who he is seeks understanding. His present and his past weave a simultaneous picture of who he is and how he came to be. The book explores the historical continuum of a culture. Where we start life plays a dynamic role in who we become. The beginning defines the end. In 355CE, Santiago experiences the heroic death of a young boy that resembles Billy who is fighting for a country and a King that don’t know he exists and don’t care. The story ends with the heroic death of his brother in Vietnam for a country that doesn’t know he exists. Historical and cultural realities permeate the essence of the book. Most of the chapters of the book can be read as a short story.
My readers will expand their understanding and empathy for humanity and the determinate factors our lineage has on our life. The book explores the multicultural aspect of our belief systems. It explores the essence of what it is to be human. His fight and flight responses will engage the human emotions we all share. My life has been extremely challenging and has created an essence within me giving me a unique insight on surviving a world trying to destroy you. The book is simultaneously captivating, engaging, entertaining, and horrifying.
Candy
Candy is a story about a young girl growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Candy is swept away by life forces beyond her control and understanding. This Suspense-Thriller-Love Story follows the people and events that lead-up to a life-or-death struggle between her brother Santiago, his childhood friends and fellow veterans, with a burgeoning drug syndicate in New Mexico. Candy is caught in the middle. The action escalates as outside forces fuel the flames. As the flames grow higher, the excitement builds until it reaches a boiling point. The cauldron explodes and all hell breaks loose.
La Corona, Bits, and Pieces, Lies Poetry
The language of love and hate, good and bad, funny and sad, joy and pain, dreams and nightmares, hope and regret, laughter and tears, the past and the present, mother nature and man, God and Satan, all longing for a better tomorrow. I wrote these poems embedded in our humanity. It took me years to compile, some I wrote decades ago, others while living in La Corona, Mother Natures Crown. Some are deeply personal, others extremely whimsical, and most, highly philosophical. Skip around as you read, reflect on the Bits and Pieces.