Please tell us a little about yourself and A God of Moonlight and Stardust.  

I am a Mexican immigrant who very recently became a U.S. citizen in 2021. Writing has always been a passion of mine and I used to enter short story writing contests as a child. Although I always saw myself pursuing a career in writing as an author, my immigrant parents did not. Being an author was not my parents’ vision of the “American Dream,” and they urged me to pursue a more traditional career path like a doctor or lawyer. Years later, I became a lawyer, and it was not until I became a mom and was in postpartum therapy that I decided to give creative writing a try again. My therapist at the time encouraged me to use writing as a therapeutic outlet, and that writing eventually became my debut. A year after professional editing, I self-published. I am still a full-time practicing lawyer and have a supportive family who helps me balance my author career. Writing fiction allows me to have fun with writing and do away with some of the rigidity required in my legal profession.  

How did you choose the genre of A God of Moonlight and Stardust?  

I write SF and fantasy thanks to my grandfather. He used to have a typewriter store and I used to sit next to him and help fix typewriters. When he retired, he became an SF author. I loved listening to stories about faraway places, galaxies, planets, and topics like astral-traveling and space exploration. He gave me the courage to believe I could also be an author one day.  

Any advice for others starting the process of independent publishing? 

Find a good editor. You only get to make a good impression once. You do not need a yes-man for an editor. Find someone who will challenge you to be a critical thinker and question your plots and character motives. Read books that editor has worked on. My editor, Jeanine Harrell, has been my rock and I would not be here without her.  

What are you working on now?      

I am working on Book 2 and Book 3 of my Daughters of Chaos Series. The series follows the daughters of a villainous god in an SF setting and reimagines what a mythology pantheon would look like in a post-apocalyptic world. The daughters must learn to embrace their legacy of chaotic magic and choose whether to live in the light or succumb to the dark and villainous nature that plagues their magical lineage. Book 2 in the series, “An Heir of Darkness and Ruin,” will be released on June 30, 2025.  

Portions of this Q&A were edited for clarity.