1–What is the title of your latest release? A TOUCH OF MOONLIGHT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Larimar has found her soulmate in Ray. He just can’t find out she works for the corporation that wants to close his bakery, and he can’t find out she’s a ciguapa (mythical creature from Dominican folk legend). 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I started writing the book during the lockdown in 2020, so my mind naturally went to several places I wanted to travel to and couldn’t, like North Jersey (where I’m from) and Philly (where I lived for several years). 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely! We would go thrift shopping and eat cupcakes together. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Spunky, spirited, sarcastic. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned more about the moon cycle than I ever had in my life, since the events of the story happen around the moon cycle. There were some scenes I had to edit to match the moon cycle. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I try…

Welcome to Fresh Fiction, Yaffa and congrats on your debut novel hitting stores! Please tell us more about yourself and your book, A TASTE OF SAGE. Thank you! A TASTE OF SAGE came to be as I combined my interests in the romance genre and cooking. It was also important to me that there be some aspect that extends beyond the five senses. I started with Lumi, my main character, and an idea of the journey I wanted for her, but not as much of a clear idea of how she would get there. Little by little, I added the other characters and conflicts. That was the fun part. Will you talk a little bit about your journey into publishing? What has been the most surprising thing about becoming a published author so far? I queried for about two years on and off before I connected with my agent. What surprises me the most is how much there is to learn about how publishing works, though I’m making progress every day. In addition to being a contemporary romance, A TASTE OF SAGE is also a love letter to FOOD! I was obsessed with the descriptions of food throughout this novel…