Claudia is seeking a literary agent to represent these unpublished novels. 



OUT OF THE BLAZE

When a raging wildfire destroys her family’s home and vineyard, Sofia Moro is offered refuge by her mother’s estranged relatives. Accepting the hospitality of the family Mama forbade her to know for four decades is a chance to connect with her Mexican heritage. If only Sofia can keep the arrangement secret from her mother who has retired abroad.

When the remains of a long-dead infant are discovered in the vineyard’s charred ruins, the truth about Mama’s past and the origins of the family feud threaten to shatter Sofia’s most treasured relationships and her plans to rebuild.

HOUSE DIVIDED

When Serena Diaz-Verson rediscovers the dilapidated 1820s house built by her Spanish ancestors, she is determined to restore its thick-walled rooms and tile courtyard. But her brother, father, and aunt each have their own conflicting plans for capitalizing on the valuable property on the California coast. Little does Serena know how some of these cherished relationships will be threatened by her infatuation with the house and her collaboration with a headstrong contractor bent on historical accuracy.

Serena’s quest to rebuild the historic adobe collides with her tumultuous love life. She feels smothered by her fiancé’s devotion and expectations, and she gravitates instead to his brother, a charismatic tennis champion. Creigh Walker can’t suppress his enthusiasm for life, nor his reckless impulses--and Serena just can’t resist him. To sustain the tenuous relationship, she’ll have to compromise her beliefs about love and happily ever after. But can she sacrifice the family homestead when her aspirations collide?


RUNAWAY WIFE

Historian-want-to-be Cecilia Hernandez doesn’t have a bucket list. As a mom and politician’s wife, her to-do lists are all about the needs of her son and husband. Until now. Cecilia sets off for Italy with her dead sister’s passport, determined not to be found. When her husband is accused of her disappearance, her Italian sojourn could shatter her family. 

Cecilia’s sharp pivot comes after her sister’s untimely death and as her son departs for college and her husband launches his campaign to become Attorney General of California. Unwilling to tag along on another chaotic political campaign, Cecilia instead leans in to her longtime desire to study the enigmatic Etruscan culture in the Italian hill town she visited as a history student. She’s determined to unravel the ancient Etruscans’ feminist leanings and share that knowledge with the world. Cecilia quickly finds adventure and a fresh chance at love, but her secretive exit jeopardizes family ties and her husband’s political career.

I still believe there are people in life who will suck your soul through a straw if you allow it. And there are people who will nurture it. If you let them, they will feed you tomatoes grown under the Italian sky, limoncello, and bliss. The choice was mine all along.

 

MY MONTEREY

At 34, Corina Vargas is by far the youngest member of the County Board of Supervisors in Monterey – and the only woman. A vegetarian and environmental crusader, can she make her mark in a land of cowboy boots and good ol’ boy politics? She intends to try, and she’ll get some help from a group of zealous activists, her busybody aunt, and Sam Wells, the bright County official with whom she falls in love.

The stakes are high when a moth infestation threatens to obliterate the region's crops and a hazardous pesticide-spraying program is commenced. Corina must decide whether to champion the anti-spraying crusade or stand with the farmers. She quickly realizes that the line between right and wrong is blurrier than she imagined when some activists turn to eco-terrorism to win the day.

Older and wiser, Sam mentors Corina in her new career, but spurns her romantic overtures. A relationship between an elected Supervisor and County staffer won’t fly in insular Monterey County. When Corina and Sam decide to collaborate to build farmworker housing, their relationship and her career take off in a new, inspired direction.

THE SWEETEST EXILE

Elena Solis, a journalist from the L.A. barrio, is laid off from her dream newspaper job, so she relocates with her husband to his family’s orange ranch in rural Ojai. There, she gets a mixed reception from his family and her life soon intersects with three farm workers and an admiring philanthropist. Elena must find a new direction for her life and sort out her crumbling marriage.

Maybe I’ll learn the rhythms of the ranch like I know the bus schedule in L.A. I pluck eight oranges and tuck them into the basket. As a child, I drank orange juice every day, but never encountered an actual orange tree during my city life.