LIGHTNING IN HER HANDS by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland - Spotlight

 

Gifted—or cursed—with the power to influence the weather, one woman must embrace her wild heart in the next electric romance from the author of Witch of Wild Things.

Teal Flores is desperate for two things—control over her gift of weather, and a date to her ex’s wedding. The first isn’t possible until she finds her long-lost mother, but the second has a very handsome last-ditch solution: Carter Velasquez.

Carter needs Teal too. His chance at receiving an inheritance is dependent on him being married by age thirty (blame his traditional Cuban grandmother), so who better to pose as his wife than Teal? But fake marriage and cohabitation prove tricky when mutual attraction charges the atmosphere—quite literally for Teal, whose volatile emotions cause lightning strikes.

Together, Teal and Carter embark on a quest to find her mother and the answers she’s searching for. But along the way, they’ll discover something even better: a love that can weather any storm.

I'm a Mexican American poet, painter, wife, mother and aspiring micro-farmer. In my work, I explore myths and folklore as well as motherhood, plants and the lineages of all things.

I was born in West Palm Beach, Florida and I grew up there with my parents, brother and sister. I studied fine art for many years, specializing in painting, both in high school and college. I have a B.A. in cultural anthropology from the University of West Florida and an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Alaska, Anchorage.

My work has been published or is forthcoming in Rattle, Luna Luna and Fairy Tale Review, among others. My first collection, Dirt and Honey, is available from Green Writers Press. My chapbook, Tales From the House of Vasquez, is the winner of the 2018 Rattle Chapbook Prize and is available from the Rattle website.

I'm represented by Elizabeth Bewley of Sterling Lord Literistic.