Novels
Writing a novel is like being in a relationship - it’s a great idea at first.
Until it’s full of all the drama and chaos you initially overlooked.
Until the new and exciting sours into existential boredom.
Yet once it’s over, you can’t help but miss all of those things you forgot to appreciate while you were in it.
Thank the universe you can go back to the novel after you get some space.
But it’s rarely a good idea to go back to your ex.
-jr lópez
A Ghost’s Story
Rubén Espinoza is haunted by the deaths of his father and brother, as well as by the memories of his mother who resides in a psychiatric facility.
He drops out of college and works at a coffee shop, where he reads and drinks coffee incessantly to avoid sleeping. This way, his ghosts cannot come after him in his dreams.
Rubén falls in love with Selena Sálazar, a descendant of a long line of Seers that practice plant medicine. Serving as a guide in a medicinal ceremony, Selena guides Rubén into himself — into Hell.
Itzayé, the custodian of Hell, explains that Hell is not a destination, but rather a station – a place between a Here and There that one must pass through.
In Hell, Rubén must face his suffering and put his ghosts to rest. Should he fail, he will be condemned to live out Hell on Earth, forever haunted by the ghosts of his past.
psycho-spiritual thriller, romance, magical realism
Whispers of Home
The final installment in the world of the Sálazars, beginning with A Ghost’s Story and ending with Whispers of Home.
Lita Sálazar is a musician who develops the gift of hearing whispers — the voices of her musical inspiration. But these whispers begin to overwhelm Lita. Though she comes from a family of Seers who work with plant medicines who offered their support, Lita turned away from their traditional medicine.
Instead, Lita and the voices reached a fragile, yet powerful balance: If she always played music, then the voices provided treasures instead of terrors, enchanting harmony instead of horrific dissonance.
But when the love of her life Raul dies, Lita is unable to accept the circumstances of his death. The whispers return – except this time, they are the voice of her late husband.
Lita must make sense of what led to Raul’s death, navigate her own grief, and balance Raul’s whispers with Justin Freeman, the music professor that is making his way into her fractured heart.
magical realism, drama & romance, this-life-and-the-next
Comedy of the Anxious
Jorge Cruz here — teller of jokes and drinker of whiskey (informal and self-ascribed titles, to be clear).
The People (whoever they are) say I’m a rising stand-up comic on the edge of my big break — but I’m also on the edge of a nervous breakdown. That’s because there’s also the Other People (whoever those are) that hate my jokes and want to end my career before it ever really takes off.
Layla, brewery-owner and my partner in life — along with my sister María and brother in law Mike — hold me down. And the man my sister refers to as “our dad” breaks me down. But I survive it all with their love.
The comedy gods finally call my number, and I go on a nationwide tour with the angry yet lovable Elena and the comically depressed philosopher Nathan. I’m literally achieving my dreams — but the anxiety chokes me harder. Am I ready for this?
Comedy, realistic fiction, anxiety, growing into oneself
Circus of Weird
Oh, hello dear reader. Funny seeing you here — I hope you looked around to see if I was actually looking. Anyways, let’s get to it because there’s only so much space to work with here: What is sanity in an insane world? Aren’t we all just part of the absurd yet significant games in this Circus of Weird?
About Me: My mom named me Carlos — I had no part in the selection of this name, much like I had no part in choosing my hair color, or in getting evicted from a plush room and board situation in the womb and having to be part of this quite random blip of time in the larger scope of the infinite universe.
My fiancée Chloe is a nurse, my best friend Edwin is a security guard, and I’m an aide at a psychiatric hospital. And, to be honest, I like it more “in there” than “out here.” Psych patients are more honest; they gave up on pretending to have it all figured out, unlike us who wander around on the outside, clapping cymbals together like obedient chimps for money or whatever we do.
Okay, here’s some drama: When the love of Edwin’s life, Breana, has a breakdown after her parents are deported, Chloe and I move into their house to take care of each other.
But as the four of us grow and change — along with our ambitions, or lack thereof — we have to choose what role we’ll continue to play in the Circus of Weird, until our time comes to an end…
Comedy, realistic fiction, existential, second-coming of age