Finally coming to terms with what I like to do.

Hello there! I am Odette Salazar Stone, or Odette for short. I am a newly 30 year old Latina woman living in metro Atlanta, and for the first time in what feels like 15 years, I am unemployed. Every single site or article I read on “how to change your career path” recommended to have a job lined up prior to you quitting your current job, and I of course did the opposite. I gave my two weeks not knowing where I would land, and it was kind of liberating. Shortly after I had begun my sabbatical (we shall call it a sabbatical no?) I confided on my husband a story I had come up with: a mixture of murder, royalty, studying abroad, intrigue and power trips. The protagonist, a Mexican-American woman like me, felt trapped at her job (starting to sound familiar yet?) and didn’t feel like she belonged so she took the opportunity to go study in Europe for a chance at a better job (I was totally projecting). Anyway, she was at the wrong place, at exactly the wrong time, and the rest is history. Dan (my awesome husband! Hey Danny!) and I set up a schedule that worked for us and well, we wrote our first book. The more I wrote and the more I let my imagination run wild, the better I felt. I realized along the way that even though I loved to read many books and relate to its heroines, I could not really picture myself as them. None of them spoke Spanish or had my background, so I took matters into my own hands and created her. I don’t think our book – a work of fiction that definitely falls onto a chick-lit thriller category – will change the world. However, if it opens doors for more Latino authors, with Latina protagonists who aren’t the exotic girlfriend, or the maid, or the drug cartel boss, then this struggle will definitely be worth it. The journey to publication started for Dan and I about three weeks ago, when we queried to 24 literary agencies, with 8 rejections so far. Hopefully, this website would be an outlet for somebody else going through the same motions as we are, looking for an opportunity that would amplify our voices!

Til next time,

Odette