10 years anniversary of …after…
Dear readers,
With the publication ten years ago of my collection of short stories entitled "...after...”, I served up to you a kind of novel as a world remembered, preserved, and respected through short stories. However, editors have suggested to me an exciting prospect of reissuing a 10th anniversary edition as an example of a good book of short stories.
…after… has been an incredible journey for me as a writer. It has opened doorways I never would have expected to cross through. Into university classrooms, important inter-American cultural centers and internationally important institutions, I have been invited to diverse audiences that have read, discussed, shared humor and tears with me. I've met with so many people at universities, cultural centers, bookstores, nonprofit organizations, and more. I've also had the incredible opportunity to dive into the world of co-publishing.
…after… introduced me to people with whom I have been fortunate to form friendships that enrich my life. I'm still thrilled to realize that my creative work led me to wondrous interactive social and cultural experiences. I am not talking about adulation or fandom. I am referring to how much these experiences have motivated me to keep exploring the world of words and all the wonderful things that the book has to offer. I thank the Community Literature Initiative and its association with World Stage Press, whose collaborative efforts brought this book into published reality, as a literary contribution for some betterment in this world. I can't thank family enough. I'm so grateful to my mom and dad, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, my son, husband, friends, and everyone who supports me in this career.
Writing this book helped me to live in and come to know this new place into which I was not born, where I not only survived by pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree at UCLA, but where writing helps me make it through each day in this wonderfully strange world we call Los Angeles, California. The lost and encaged dreams of the world in this time and space is part of what I try capture in my newer work. With your continued support, I hope to publish new short stories very soon.