PRIDA Revisits Author Theresa Varela
By Clara Galvano Rivera
Theresa Varela saw her older sister’s health decline due to kidney disease and decided she wanted to be a nurse so she could assist others. Varela was only 11 years old when her sister, who was 15, passed in 1969. The nursing career? Success! Varela holds a PhD from New York University and is a psychiatric nurse practitioner working with the mentally ill homeless population in New York City. “It was a choice. I wanted to be helpful to others.”
In 10th grade, Varela’s book report on Death Be Not Proud did not sit well with the professor, who told her she needed to put more emotion into the piece, to talk about her feelings. “He wanted therapy on a piece of paper and that turned me off to writing for a long time,” Valera comments.
Years later, while Varela was working on her doctorate at NYU, one of the faculty committee members noticed her writing and commented positively on it. Feeling that perhaps she should explore that side of herself, she started taking creative writing courses at Hunter College and found that she enjoyed writing. The rest, as they say, is history!
Varela’s father was from Aguada, her Mother from Santurce. Her Mother passed at 72, in 1999 and since her Dad, always wanted to return to Aguada, his daughter bought him a house where he lived happily for 9 years. Once he began to exhibit Alzheimer’s, she brought him back to the States to live with her. Her father arrived in 2017 and made his transition in 2019 at the age of 87. Varela shares, “My Father had a good life. I have no regrets.”
Varela had started writing Murder in Red Hook in 2016 and continued while taking care of her dad; she was surprised that it only took her two years to write another book in between – Coney Island Siren. What inspired that, you ask? Varela says, “I was on the boardwalk in Brooklyn and saw a woman talking to this man who wasn’t being very nice to her. I had been working with a character from the early 1900’s that had been going through domestic violence, and this couple reminded me of her. That 1900’s character brought a lot of poetry out of me and Coney Island Siren was the result.” (If anyone reading this needs help, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE or 1-800-787-3224 (TTY). If in immediate danger. Call 911.)
Murder in Redhook has finally been published and is the second in her mystery series featuring Daisy Muñiz. As in the prior mystery, Nights of Indigo Blue (published in 2015), Daisy, is still in Brooklyn, getting into hot water and using her intuition, spirit guides and moxie to come out ahead. Murder in Red Hook is available online at many book sellers including Barnes & Noble, Goodreads and Amazon. Here is what they are saying about the book:
“Daisy Muñiz is stunned by the murder of one of her closest friends in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Not only does she grapple with grief as she searches for the killer, her beau, Detective David Rodriguez, reveals secrets that her heart finds hard to accept. Daisy’s growing intuition and clairvoyance are jeopardized as everything she has believed in comes tumbling down. As Daisy takes steps to seek answers to a series of mishaps and treachery, she must learn how to trust herself and the people surrounding her.” Valera will have books for sale at the November 19 National Puerto Rican Artisans Fair and Book Expo at Hostos Community College, so plan to pick up a copy and say hello to the author and ask for an autograph!
Besides the Daisy Munoz mysteries, Valera has published Covering the Sun with My Hand and Answered by Silence: a collection of poems. Her poetry and short stories have been featured in What They Leave Behind, A Latinx Anthology, Peinate: Hair Battles Between Mothers & Daughters, Sinister Wisdom, and New Voices Anthology.
Our talented award-winning author also does astrology and spiritual consultations. In addition to her novels, she has designed the Graciella la Gitana Oracle™ © deck for those who are searching for spiritual awareness and clarity to enrich their lives. Aren’t we all? She and Pat Dornelles, the other half of LatinaLibations.com, are offering “Gift ideas with a Latina-made flair!” The online shop “is a blend of pride and heritage with a nod to our ancestors.” The holidays are an excellent time to peruse the offerings!
Varela is getting ready for the holidays and in addition to attending the Comite Noviembre’s 2022 National Puerto Rican Artisans Fair and Book Expo, you will also find her at PRIDA Holiday Artisans Fair on December 3 at El Barrio’s Art Space PS 109. Varela has started writing the third installment of the Daisy Muniz series. She is currently calling it “Deadly Little Christmas”.
Asked why she joined PRIDA, she responds with, “I joined PRIDA because of Comite Noviembre and the Artisans and Authors fair. It was exciting to see all these talented artists coming together. It was beautiful and I wanted to be part of it.”
Varela doesn’t have a special nook designated for writing. Anytime she gets an idea, she quickly puts the notes in her iPhone to explore later. “I am an intuitive writer, and I ‘listen’ to the characters when they speak. It may sound silly, but you become entranced by the characters – I learn things from them. It’s fascinating. I get close to my characters. I don’t force it. I see images. The stories come to me and I do whatever needs to be done to have their stories told.” Varela also shares, “Writing is very spiritual. I think I was meant to write. It’s a gift given to me and I am supposed to share it.”
The author’s website is theresavarela.com and her other creative endeavors can be found at LatinaLibations.com.
Social Media Handles:
IG: @TheresaVarelaAuthor and @LatinaLibations
Twitter: @Theresa_Varela
Photo credit: Patricia Dornelles and Video Creation by: Felix of @tarot_and_libros
Article by Clara Galvano Rivera Journalist/Writer
cgr.writepro@gmail.com