Flower for Chelo, my latest novel, will be available on Amazon today. Chelo fled Cuba in search of freedom in 1961. Born in a small village near Havana in 1921, she married Adolfo Llano in 1944 after a loving courtship. The newlyweds built a happy life in Artemisa, the cradle of the Cuban Revolution of 1959. There they encountered some of the revolution’s most prominent leaders and endured the harsh realities of the communist regime, which destroyed their prosperity and shattered their dreams.

Determined to secure a better future for her family, Chelo risked everything to escape Cuba. She led her loved ones through danger, uncertainty, and profound hardship, overcoming extraordinary obstacles to build a new life in the United States. Her story is a testament to the resilience, courage, and unwavering spirit of the Cuban people. Yet history rarely records the lives of ordinary heroes like Chelo—men and women who changed the world not through power or violence, but through sacrifice, perseverance, and love.

Flowers for Chelo is a substantially rewritten edition of Cuban Seeds, originally published in December 2016 and now out of print.

I hope Chelo’s extraordinary journey will inspire you as much as it inspired me to tell her story.