Tell us about your book: 
“Santa Claus and Little Sister” is autobiographical in nature, selfishly therapeutic in design, and hard proof that fate does exist.
This is my personal, and often private journey when I was in my 20′s and recently graduated.  I was a young optimistic teacher who traveled from East to West to teach at a Los Angeles placement home for at-risk, gang, abused and seriously emotionally disturbed girls.
I discovered that truths often become lies, moral transforms into immoral, and fear truly builds knowledge.

How long did it take to write the book?
I originally started working on the in the early 90′s   when I was having difficulty dealing with the loss of one of my favorite  students  to teenage suicide.   Writing became my  therapy, of sorts.  It was rejected by literary agents back then because they thought they subject matter was too sensitive and that teenage suicide was not a universal problem.   I decided to resurrect the book last year, develop some of my characters more,  and remove over 13 chapters that I deemed too private.

What inspired you to write the book?
The loss of my favorite student and the frustration that I did not recognize the warning signs of teeange suicide.

Talk about the writing process. Did you have a writing routine? Did you do any research, and if so, what did that involve?
Because the book involves gang lifestyles, drug use, prison scenes, and special educational settings, I had to compliment my writings with extensive  research.   The subject is serious, and therefore I wanted the facts presented accurately  and informative, and yet integrated smoothly with the story.

What do you hope your readers come away with after reading your book?

Just not to judge anyone else until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes….