My family was on my mind a lot as I worked on EXILED HEARTS (tentative title), my new book for Sourcebooks. EXiLED HEARTS is a story about a grandmother, mother, and daughter separated by the past. When the grandmother reaches out to the granddaughter to try to set things to right, the family’s history is revealed. All three women must come to terms with the past and also with the future as the granddaughter finds herself falling in love with her grandmother’s right-hand man.
Much of the history in this story is based on my family’s real-life history in leaving Cuba and you get to meet my grandparents in that novel. The story of them dragging around two little girls while they tried to get into the U.S. is true as is the story of the grandfather lying about his age to make himself younger so he could get work and help support the family. And like the great-grandmother in EXILED HEARTS, my grandmother was the one who watched my sister and me as my parents went off to work.
This is a picture of Antonio and Nieves, my grandparents. Two courageous, hard-working, and loving people who gave everything for their family.
