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I didn’t write my first official book until my son was
already out of the house. I suppose I could have, if I had taken a different
path. You see, I was a single mom at the age of 18, and although I had an
immense passion for the arts, and was majoring in music, I realized (or maybe
it was just drilled into me and I don’t remember) that I needed to pursue
something that provided more financial stability than anything related to the arts
(writing, painting, acting, singing, dancing). So I switched my major, against
the advisement of the Music Program Director, to Business Administration. That
sounds pretty stable, right?
It took me ten years to complete my associate’s degree, for
many reasons, which include the certificate requirements changing, having to
retake classes I didn’t pass, and taking courses that didn’t fall within the
degree requirements, which I didn’t know at the time. I worked and went to
school while my family helped me with my son. Even though my maternal
grandmother felt I shouldn’t go to college and should stay home with my son,
she still supported me. After I obtained my associates, it took me four more
years to finish my Bachelor’s degree. I prayed about next steps and received
the answer to continue my education to further solidify my financial stability,
so I spent one year completing my accelerated Masters program, and four more
years to complete my Doctorate, which I finished in 2011. At the end of receiving
my education I wasn’t financially set because I now had debt related to my
education, I wasn’t fulfilled because I wasn’t following my passion, and my son
was now 20, so I missed a lot of time that I could have spent with him instead
of studying.
Throughout my years of working and going to school I did
manage to squeeze in supporting my son in soccer, t-ball, basketball, and cub
scouts. I also tried to feed my artistic side by performing in musical theater,
and was fortunate enough to get my son involved in theater with me, which
included enrolling him in acting classes and performing alongside me in Rain of
Gold. It was important to me to be involved in my son’s education so I ran and
was elected as a School Site Council member for his elementary school, served
as carnival chairperson, participated in PTA, and even taught Junior
Achievement curriculum in each of his classes from second- to fifth- grade.
I eventually married in 2007, when my son was 16. But in
2011 with a son grown and living out of the house I felt even more strongly
that something was missing in my life. I dabbled in drawing and writing. I
allowed myself to fall back into that place I discovered as a child—my
imagination. Writing is where I found a special kind of peace. Where I entered
my secret hideout—my mind. In this place, I laughed and cried with my
characters as they took form on the page through their dialogue and the
protagonist’s thoughts. If someone had recorded me, I’m sure they would have
seen that glazed over look of someone physically in the space but oblivious to what
is happening in the room, the look of someone escaping reality. It’s magical,
actually, allowing yourself to get lost in your own mind, but tethered to
reality by the keyboard on which the fingers are tapping. One foot in and one
foot out of the real world, the world that holds with it a plethora of bills,
gossip, politics, and the mundane.
So I allowed myself these respites, especially since I was
working part-time as an adjunct faculty member and applying to educational
institutions to obtain a job in educational leadership for which I obtained my
degree. I had no success of finding a job in my own community of Visalia, and
after two years of searching, obtained a job around three and a half hours away
in Santa Clara, CA. At first, my husband and I were looking at moving to Santa
Clara, but my husband was not able to secure a job on the coast with me, so I
lived alone in an apartment in Santa Clara while my husband was living and
working in Visalia. We took turns visiting each other on the weekends, although
I came to Visalia more often since my son, nieces, and mother were also in
Visalia. Nights were boring for me. I wasn’t a single mom alone with a child,
anymore. Now it was just me, alone with my thoughts. I ended up creating three
games that I was looking to put on the market, but then one night after
meditation, I had this story that took shape in my mind. From that moment, I
began to write feverishly after work and weekends. Sometimes I skipped a trip
to Visalia and focused on the writing. I thought perhaps the book would provide
additional revenue to help me get my games to market.
Fast forward to today—I am living in Visalia again, I have
yet to bring my games to market, but I have published my book, The Immundus.
It’s a book that I should have freed from my mind years ago, if I only allowed
myself to allow my passion for the arts to take precedence over my
sensibilities of life. The one thing I hope my son has learned from my life, is
to follow the career that his heart leads him to rather than listen to the
logic of his mind, or the dictates of society.
It’s the year 2828, and Domus is the last remaining country. Divided into twelve walled cities known as genuses, Domus spans what’s known as the purist lands—lands unaffected by the genetic modifications that killed all other species of mammals. But outside the walls of each genus the Immundus threaten the welfare of those within. From a young age, all citizens of Domus are trained for combat against these intruders.
At sixteen, Nia Luna knows little of the Immundus, except for the citywide alarms that ring any time an Immundus nears the genus walls. What she does know is that her own species is dying—their numbers dwindling as a mysterious disease called allagine kills many before their eleventh birthday. The same disease that ravaged her family when it took her sister.
When Nia is recruited into Genesis, a research company pioneering the path to a cure, she knows that her dream to find a cure for allagine is finally within her grasp. But within weeks of starting at Genesis, Nia witnesses something she shouldn’t have—something that changes everything. As she sets down a dangerous path that uncovers national secrets, Nia will have to decide not only what kind of person she wants to be, but also how far she’s willing to go to save humanity.
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