Before, the sun drenched the yard. Our neighbor’s laughter danced in the streets. Now, the streets are quiet. Papa is gone, and we are no longer safe here. We are leaving, too.
Based on actual events at the Tijuana/San Ysidro border, author Stephen Briseño’s moving story—The Notebook Keeper—follows Mama and her young daughter, Noemi, as they seek asylum in the United States. Illustrator Magdalena Mora uses heartfull illustrations to depict this emotional journey, fleeing from a home in Mexico to the U.S. border.

My last post was a WHOLE YEAR ago. Totally embarrassed. Life has had its way with me.

The newly-published magical, picture books and young adult novels entered into the market offered many stories to read and savor. I found myself buried by books at times. I also tried a new path from writing picture books by finishing the third draft of the first book in a two-book young adult historical fiction fantasy. I lived my days and nighttime dreams within a land of three kingdoms. My multigenerational characters became my new best friends. I even discovered I liked sparring with my multi-layered villains. Drafting and then twice reworking a 68,000+ word novel was like caring for a four-ton elephant. All my storytelling struggles were well worth the hard work. An interested literary agent—a dynamic, instinctive storyteller—has my manuscript. It’s a time of waiting, wondering and…hoping.