Greetings from Tucson

Inspired by a true story

2020 inspired many of us to get out of our comfort zones and embrace new hobbies. For me, I got into the art of letter writing, surprising friends and family members near and far with handwritten cards and notes. These letters connected us together—if only for the few minutes I spent writing them and the few moments the recipients spent reading them. 

Most importantly, writing these letters prompted me to write the story that's been in the back of my mind since 2012, which was when I discovered a shoebox filled with pastel-colored envelopes stuffed with handwritten notes. There were countless letters stacked up inside that were sent to my grandma from her sisters—she kept them for decades tucked away in her closet. I’ll never forget their smell—rosewater mixed with the stale smell of vintage paper.

These letters from the 1940s and beyond pieced together the stunning—and tragic—story of her early life and taught me that a sisters' bond could never be broken, no matter how hard life became. 

A story that taught me sisters could be soulmates, too.

A synopsis

A coming-of-age story with true love at its core, Greetings from Tucson tells the story of four sisters’ lives through the lens of handwritten letters. These long-lost letters, found decades after they were penned, once formed a lifeline that held them together when their worlds were otherwise falling apart.

In June of 1945, tragedy struck, and Cookie, Frankie, Dottie, and Connie were torn from everything they knew—their parents, their home, and, most importantly, each other. Forced to live thousands of miles apart, they feared their bond would be broken.

The sisters began writing letters to each other to celebrate their milestones and mourn every heartbreak. Through those letters, they found a way to strengthen their sisterhood when the odds were so stacked against them. The letters were like prisms, reflecting their lives from childhood into adulthood, as they fell in love or fulfilled their lifelong dreams. That is, until one sister's secret from the past changed everything.

Would she break the fragile bond they worked so hard to nurture after their fateful split so many years ago?

About the characters

Meet Cookie, Frankie, Dottie, and Connie—four sisters with a powerful bond that won’t be broken, no matter what life throws at them. Although I dedicated my book to the real-life sisters behind the story—Loretta, Nancy, Josephine, and Delores—the book is fiction and their real lives were often far different than the lives of their book characters’ counterparts (although I leave it up to the reader to determine which parts were fact and which parts were fiction).

However, Loretta (the real-life Cookie) was on my mind and in my heart the entire time I wrote this book. If you had a grandmother who was your “everything,” you know exactly what I’m talking about. I wrote with her in mind—her facial expressions, mannerisms, softness, easygoing nature, perfume, and even the way her sneakers squeaked on the floor when she walked across the gymnasium. She was a special woman and I hope Greetings from Tucson makes her proud!