Yes. I wanted to write novels since I was a teenager. Circumstances led me in a different direction. I spent many years in the business world before breaking free and realizing my dream. Four books later every book has been shortlisted or won an award. It's a great feeling to finally do the thing I love, touch others with my writing, and receive the highest recognition, the stamp of approval from both readers and other writers.
Many times, particularly in my 'Forgiving' series, which is set in Washington Heights, where I live, and the Dominican Republic, which I visit every winter. Many of my characters are based on people I know and love, but I'll never tell which and who!
Real literary success to me is reaching a reader and expanding that reader's view of the world, perhaps even changing someone's mind about something important. If I can reach one reader, one person, and give them the opportunity to look at the world a little differently, I've succeeded.
I was inspired by the authors who took me to other places and other lives when I was a teenager. My main influences were Ernest Hemingway, Boris Pasternak, Leon Uris, Herman Wouk, and James Michener
