I’m based in Florida, but my heart still rides the 7 train back to Queens, New York whenever it can.

Like many children of immigrant parents, I was handed a very specific blueprint for success. It involved a degree, a prestigious title, and something framed on a wall. Doctor. Lawyer. Something impressive enough to make relatives nod approvingly at family gatherings. “Author” was not on the approved list.

But in elementary school, something inconvenient happened. I fell in love with words.

Author Sam Swope became my mentor and quietly unlocked a door in my imagination that has never closed since. Unfortunately, my life plan had already been laminated. So I tucked my creativity into a polite little box and told everyone, including myself, that I was going to be an attorney.

That worked… until it didn’t.

Somewhere between practicality and passion, the creative fire staged a rebellion. The pen started tapping on the inside of my ribcage. The stage began whispering my name. While working in the medical field, I discovered aerial arts and made my stage debut. The first time I performed, joy poured over me like someone had kicked over a bucket of glitter directly onto my soul. It was inconvenient. It was undeniable. And it was mine.

The American Dream, it turns out, was not my dream.

So I pivoted. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing. I interned with Coffee House Writers and was published for the first time in 2020. There is documented evidence of me crying when I received my first anthology. Yes, it lives on the internet. Yes, I stand by it.

That same year, the world unraveled, I graduated, and I officially stepped into my life as a writer. Epic fantasy had long been my first love. Sweeping fields. Dense forests. Characters with feelings so large they need their own weather system. My lifelong devotion to Kingdom Hearts and Harry Potter may have had something to do with that.

Since then, I’ve published two full-length novels, performed on stage, written professionally, paid bills like a responsible adult, and continued chasing stories that feel electric under my skin. These days, my work leans into romance with a supernatural heartbeat because I’ve learned that love stories with teeth are my favorite kind.

If you’ve made it this far, hello. I’m Lourdes. But you can call me Piniña.

I am no longer auditioning for someone else’s version of success. I am here for magic, for glitter, for complicated characters, and for building a life that feels like mine.

Welcome to my corner of it.