L: You have two published fiction books to your credit. One about the friendship between two boys who fall into drugs, and their progressive recovery and escape from addiction, and another about a lawyer residing in Florida, but of Cuban origin, who, in his deathbed, relives his life experiences of his beloved homeland. Both novels are set in bygone eras, or at least cover different historical periods. Your new novel addresses a topic diametrically opposed to what you usually write about. What has encouraged you to get out of your comfort zone?
M: "You are correct that my prior books deal with race and cultural differences, as well as history. One reason I have changed is that I realize that the basis of those prior works limited the audience and caused agents and traditional publishers to be concerned about marketability. But I have not forgotten my roots in my new book. In fact, the main character and two secondary characters of my new book are the now adult children of the main characters of the prior books, and the original characters are a part too. I do have dual race and dual cultural romances in the new book. But primarily it takes a giant leap forward in dealing with internet-related issues and cybercrime. It does not deal in the past at all, but also brings modern-day Cuba back into view".
L: We still don't know if Giga Trouble is the definitive title of your new novel. But we'll call it that in the meantime. How has the process of writing and rewriting this new project been? Has it been difficult to write a work of fiction about the world of technology?
M: "I might change the title. The first agent who has asked for a copy of the entire text to review said it might sound like a comedy with that title. We’ll see. I find writing fun and entertaining. There were certain themes I wanted to deal with, and I love dealing with my hometown of Daytona Beach and also Cuba. This one also has a major part in Miami. As I mentioned it has the children of my prior characters and the prior characters too. I’ve used computers for years, but I learned from scratch as an adult. I’ve witnessed cybercrime including seeing another law firm get duped into sending millions of dollars of my client’s money to a fake business and within a day it ended up China. And the law firm that did it blamed my law firm because we had received one fake email from the scammers. We went through several years with international criminal investors and they finally retrieved three-quarters of the money, and the other firms cyber insurance policy paid the difference. I’ve had to learn much, much more about techie talk and have read numerous non-fiction and fiction books to shore up my knowledge. And fortunately, my brother works in that field and is a great editor on that aspect."
L: Can you tell us something about the plot? (no spoiler)
M: "'Giga Trouble,' is set against the backdrop of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Michele Morales and her co-workers at a global security business are forced aboard the company’s yacht to perform cybercriminal activities using data acquired from the company’s customers. Contemplating the danger to her colleagues and the far-reaching consequences of a worldwide pandemic virus of another sort if the internet-related criminal enterprise was not quashed, Michele dives overboard as the yacht forges through the channel toward the open sea. After the yacht is recovered and the workers freed, Michele joins forces with two long-time friends and co-workers to embark on a complex and perilous journey to unravel the conspiracy, facing threats and obstacles from criminals and government agencies alike. As she navigates this dangerous landscape, Michele must confront her own doubts and insecurities, in rallying a team to save the world from the nefarious plot."
L: Are the characters new or are some from previous novels?
M: "The main characters and other characters are from the other books. The main character is the daughter of the main character in Cuban Roots. Her friends who are secondary characters are the children of the main characters of White Sugar, Brown Sugar. All their parents have roles in this book too. I’m very fond of the prior characters. The children were extremely young in White Sugar, Brown Sugar, and they have very small parts as teenagers in Cuban Roots and now they are in their late 30s and their parents in their late 60s."
L: Do you think the events you narrate in Giga Trouble could happen in real life?
M: "Absolutely. The more I work on it, the more real it becomes to me. And my daily review of international news makes it more real every day and gives me even more ideas."
L: What can your White Sugar, Brown Sugar readers expect when they read Giga Trouble?
M: "Roosevelt Harris and David “Jude” Armstrong were bound up in a world of drug abuse and addiction in White Sugar, Brown Sugar. But they come around in their late twenties, early thirties in that book, by taking over a small restaurant operation and making it a large franchise. They also have bit parts in Cuban Roots as mature and sober adults. And their characters are the same in this book as they rally around their kids. I use racial differences here too, in having Michele Morales, a Cuban-born woman of Spanish heritage and Roosevelt Harris’ son who is a Black from the United States fall in love as part of their endeavor. And Jude Armstrong who’s now in his late 60’s falls in love with a younger Cuban. In one scene she asks if he wants an alcoholic drink, but he declines."
L: Besides this novel, do you have any other writing projects up your sleeve?
M: "Yes. As you may know I have traveled to Cuba for years, starting in 2010. I have watched the country go from bad to worse over that time. I have known of numerous Cubans who left the country, including my editor, Leonor Sierra Salas. I know people who have succeeded and who have failed, who have fled to Russia, Suriname, Brazil, Peru, Nicaragua and Mexico, with all of those headed through Mexico trying to get into the United States. Some succeed, some fail, some are killed or robbed, some are allowed in legally and some cross illegally. There are huge, significant stories to tell here. A character in the new novel, whose name is Luz, is allowed to leave Cuba and join the fledgling business and she’s already thinking about how she can save young family members who’ve fled from Cuba. So that is the next book churning in my mind."
L: And finally, thank you for sharing about your latest novel, we can't wait to see the latest version. Do you have an approximate date for its release?
M: "I wish I could say two months, but that only happens if one self-publishes. I’m trying the traditional publishing route this time. In that procedure, one must first find an agent, and after finding and contracting with one, the agent has to find a publisher, and the contract with the publisher might be six months later, and then the publisher edits, markets, etc., etc. and one won’t see it for at least a year after that. So, all I can say is within two years. Sad but that’s the way it is."
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