I am a Californian, a writer, a mom, a dog rescuer, an actor, an activist, a good cook, a mediocre skier and a terrible baker. I am bi-lingual, half Mexican-Central American on my mother's side. I've had a long standing career in the storytelling arts, I hold a BFA in Theatre and a minor in Creative writing from USC. My first novel, Chasing The Jaguar, was nominated for an American Library Association award. I received an Emmy nomination for my work on the iconic TV series, L.A. Law. My screenplay, Beethoven's 7-11, won the Moondance Film Festival Short Screenplay Award; my short screenplay Fly Cherry, won a highly competitive filmmaking grant from PowerUp! and starred Shirley Knight and Sharon Lawrence. I recently co-starred in the PBS film, The Kill Floor, which has won awards at numerous film festivals in the past year. My language arts program, Adelante Arts Collective, works with at-risk teens and in underserved communities. I think using art to understand our lives is in our DNA and it plays a vital role in our social culture. The key to a happy life is finding something you love and doing it every day. And for me that is writing books, along with some good hikes with my dogs. I have dreams of learning to weld, to play the cello and to improve my sewing skills which are abysmal.