IF I BRING YOU ROSES

Set in Puerto Rico in the 40s and Chicago in the 50s, it follows the fortunes of Felicidad Hidalgo and Aníbal Acevedo as they wrestle with the marriage they've rushed into.

In a small town in Puerto Rico, Felicidad Hidalgo spends her days serving busybodies in her aunt's bakery, and her nights dreaming of home. Closing her eyes she can almost hear the sweet songs of tree frogs, reminding her of the mountain village of her childhood, and the family she hasn't seen in nearly a decade. Her new life in town has delivered her from poverty, but not from loneliness-until the afternoon Aníbal walks through the door.

Aníbal Acevedo is not in need of a wife, but when he meets Felicidad while visiting family, he is stunned by the power of his attraction. Almost before he realizes what's happening, he has taken the girl into his bed and into his home-in Chicago. Yet soon the young lovers discover that married life is anything but idyllic. Can they find the courage to overcome the obstacles and temptations of their new world and rediscover the passion they once shared? Or will each find love and redemption in the arms of another?

Marisel Vera grew up in the barrio in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood, where she was raised by Puerto Rican emigrant parents. One of six children, she was the first in her family to earn a college degree: a BA in Journalism from Northern Illinois University. She worked in public relations, writing and editing employee newspapers, newsletters, news releases and handling media relations. She studied writing with Paulette Roeske, Margaret Gibson, Jonis Agee, Rosellen Brown, and Cristina Garcia.