Dear Reader,

I write because it’s fun.

Because my favorite place in the world is a family bbq, kicking it with my primos, close-friends, aunts, and uncles. Listening to their outrageous stories full of exaggerations and animated hand gestures that tight-rope reality and fiction.

I write because it’s nostalgic.

Because although I write fiction, the characters, themes, and language I use do not come out of thin-air. When I write I often draw from memories: a person, something I saw, smelled, heard or touched, a feeling, a yearning.

I write because it’s therapeutic.

Because through writing, rewriting, editing, and rewriting, I learn more and more about myself and what I really want to say to the world. It brings me a clarity that only a hug from my significant-other can.

I write because our stories deserve to be heard…

Sincerely,

Abel Veloz