My latest manuscript is now with my editor. The story is about Jasmin, a young girl who is a math genius, wants to travel into space in her own spacecraft, and also happens to be on the Autism spectrum. Her grandfather is her closest friend. He’s also her ally and mentor. It’s a coming of age story that centers around family secrets. Basically, it falls into the category of women’s fiction and non-murder mysteries. Tentative title: Stolen Diary. Below is a temporary mockup of a cover.
An excerpt from Stolen Diary
It was a lazy, overcast Saturday morning. Gabriela had driven Grandfather and Lola to the grocery store and to pick up tacos al pastor, or shepherd tacos, for lunch. Jasmin sat at the piano with only the cats to keep her company.
She played Mozart’s Magic Flute. The music fit her recent mood swings, from the playful melodies of the bird catcher, Papageno, to the more profound themes expressed by Tamino, the prince, in his search for love and the meaning of life. The cats paced, tails in the air, around the baby grand. One of them periodically slinked by the stool and rubbed against Jasmin’s pants as if to remind her to feed them.
The doorbell rang. Grandfather and Lola were probably signaling they’d returned with lunch. She continued playing the piano until the doorbell sounded again. She stood to answer it.
“A concert so early in the morning?” Salva Dominguez, her father, asked.
Jasmin was shocked speechless. After her parents divorced, it didn’t take her father long, by Mama’s account, to marry a rich lawyer in Madrid so he would not have to work for a living. She thought her mother was wrong. Her dad was teaching history at a university in Spain.
“You’re a young woman now,” he said. “And a beautiful one. Do I get a hug?”
Salva had been a loving father. He’d tried to keep in touch, but over time the phone calls dwindled until they’d stopped altogether. His jovial personality, in contrast to Mama’s severe outlook on life, had made Jasmin gravitate toward him when she was a child. She’d been devastated when Salva moved far away to Spain. She’d always felt guilty, thinking she’d been the culprit of her parents’ separation. She wondered if Mama’s missing diary was the reason they’d divorced. Grandfather had filled the emptiness and made up for the loss she’d felt when Salva left.
Opening the door wide, she stepped up to hug him. “Come in. Grandfather is away but he should be here shortly with lunch. And you must stay. He’s bringing tacos al pastor.”
NOTE: Stolen Diary should be published in early December.
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Photo credits:
Young female Astronaut – Pinterest
Book Cover is a mockup only for Stolen Diary by Kathryn Lane
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