It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii --- another US territory --- where they are confronted by the hollowness of America’s promises of prosperity.

It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii --- another US territory --- where they are confronted by the hollowness of America’s promises of prosperity.

Marisel Vera emerges as a major voice of contemporary fiction with a heart-wrenching novel set in Puerto Rico on the eve of the Spanish-American War.

It is 1898, and groups of starving Puerto Ricans, los hambrientos, roam the parched countryside and dusty towns begging for food. Under the yoke of Spanish oppression, the Caribbean island is forced to prepare to wage war with the United States. Up in the mountainous coffee region of Utuado, Vicente Vega and Valentina Sanchez labor to keep their small farm from the creditors. When the Spanish-American War and the great San Ciriaco Hurricane of 1899 bring devastating upheaval, the young couple is lured, along with thousands of other puertorriquenos, to the sugar plantations of Hawaii --- another US territory --- where they are confronted by the hollowness of America’s promises of prosperity.

Writing in the tradition of great Latin American storytelling, Marisel Vera’s THE TASTE OF SUGAR is an unforgettable novel of love and endurance, and a timeless portrait of the reasons we leave home.

ALL OF US is a riveting thriller with six compelling protagonists --- who all share one body. Though legally she is Carolyn Grand, in practice she is Martha, a homemaker who cooks and cleans for her “family”; Victoria, a put-together people person; Serena, a free spirit; Kirk, a heterosexual man; Eleni, a promiscuous risk-taker; and Tina, a manifestation of what is left of Carolyn after years of childhood sexual abuse. As they jockey for control of their body, all the personalities also work together to avoid being committed to a psychiatric facility. However, Carolyn’s tenuous normal is shattered when Hank Grand, the man who abused her and leased her out to pedophiles, is released from prison. And when Hank is killed in a seedy hotel room, Carolyn is immediately a prime suspect. But are any of her personalities capable of murder?

ALL OF US is a riveting thriller with six compelling protagonists --- who all share one body. Though legally she is Carolyn Grand, in practice she is Martha, a homemaker who cooks and cleans for her “family”; Victoria, a put-together people person; Serena, a free spirit; Kirk, a heterosexual man; Eleni, a promiscuous risk-taker; and Tina, a manifestation of what is left of Carolyn after years of childhood sexual abuse. As they jockey for control of their body, all the personalities also work together to avoid being committed to a psychiatric facility. However, Carolyn’s tenuous normal is shattered when Hank Grand, the man who abused her and leased her out to pedophiles, is released from prison. And when Hank is killed in a seedy hotel room, Carolyn is immediately a prime suspect. But are any of her personalities capable of murder?

ALL OF US is a riveting thriller with six compelling protagonists --- who all share one body. Though legally she is Carolyn Grand, in practice she is Martha, a homemaker who cooks and cleans for her “family”; Victoria, a put-together people person; Serena, a free spirit; Kirk, a heterosexual man; Eleni, a promiscuous risk-taker; and Tina, a manifestation of what is left of Carolyn after years of childhood sexual abuse.

As they jockey for control of their body, all the personalities also work together to avoid being committed to a psychiatric facility. But Carolyn’s tenuous normal is shattered when Hank Grand, the man who abused her and leased her out to pedophiles, is released from prison. Soon he begins stalking her, bringing back painful memories for all of the personalities.

When Hank is murdered in a seedy hotel room, Carolyn is immediately a prime suspect. But the man has other shady dealings, and the burden of proof weighs heavy on the police --- especially when, propelled by demons of his own, one of the detectives assigned to the case finds his way into Carolyn’s very solitary life.

The police and the reader are left wondering: Are any of Carolyn’s personalities capable of murder? A deeply suspenseful novel, with a truly unique cast of characters.

Audiobook available, read by Amy McFadden

Is the human race conclusively set for self-annihilation? As futurists prophesize, are we only decades away from extinguishing the planet? Or are we capable of changing this trajectory because of what YOU start today? Renewal is about how each one of us can: Renew ourselves at a body-mind-spirit level. Renew our society and our environment. Renew the systems we operate with. Written to serve as a practical guide for everyone's day-to-day “karma,” RENEWAL is strung together by the charismatic Guru Pranachandra, whose discourse drives home the vital message: that the world is a mere 30 habits away from Renewal.

Is the human race conclusively set for self-annihilation? As futurists prophesize, are we only decades away from extinguishing the planet? Or are we capable of changing this trajectory because of what YOU start today? Renewal is about how each one of us can: Renew ourselves at a body-mind-spirit level. Renew our society and our environment. Renew the systems we operate with. Written to serve as a practical guide for everyone's day-to-day “karma,” RENEWAL is strung together by the charismatic Guru Pranachandra, whose discourse drives home the vital message: that the world is a mere 30 habits away from Renewal.

Is the human race conclusively set for self-annihilation? As futurists prophesize, are we only decades away from extinguishing the planet? Or are we capable of changing this trajectory because of what YOU start today?

Renewal is about how each one of us can:

Renew ourselves at a body-mind-spirit level

Renew our society and our environment, and

Renew the systems we operate with

As of 2020, Renewal is critical, because it is our laxity that has led to the current state of rising personal illness, mindless lifestyles, social degeneration, environmental degradation and overall moral decay.

Written to serve as a practical guide for everyone's day-to-day "karma," RENEWAL is set in the lives of a modern-day family. It is strung together by the charismatic Guru Pranachandra, whose discourse drives home the vital message: that the world is a mere 30 habits away from Renewal.

Adopters of these habits will be the future Renewalists, who could well outnumber the Vegans, Buddhists, Technologists and Catholics in times to come. And it is these Renewalists who hold the key to save the world from annihilation.