Renovated is a steamy contemporary workplace romance based in Miami and a fictional small town in Florida. My heroine Marisa is a Puerto Rican woman raised in Miami after her Cuban grandparents took her in at thirteen.

I touched upon the subject of gender-based violence in Renovated because, as a Puerto Rican woman myself, I have witnessed the crisis in my own country.

In recent years, there has been a demand by citizens after the wave of deaths targeting women and transgender people. Puerto Rico has even declared a state of emergency to battle this situation, finding that the solution always starts with education.

It’s become such a crisis that the Governor has even created an executive order to protect and prevent gender-based violence. Unfortunately, women and transgender people have been victims of machismo, discrimination, and lack of education. Gender-based violence is not just a Puerto Rico problem. It’s greater than my 100 by 35-mile island. I am not a political person, but I’m not blind to what is happening outside my doorstep.

As part of her healing process, Marisa Sanchez (My Heroine) gives back to her community by empowering women with the knowledge to take care of their own homes. Being able to fix a toilet or a stopped up sink, drywall, paint, or install tile, brings us back to the biblical concept of teaching a man to fish versus giving him the fish. She is teaching women that have gotten out of bad relationships to take care of themselves. Rely on their ability to figure out that you don’t need a Y chromosome to solve household issues.

You can find her book on Amazon Kindle | Paperback