In the Shadow of Light (Unabridged‪)‬

Corozón, her mother, and her little brother, Pico, have left Honduras to seek asylum in the US. Grandfather Tito and her father, Manuel, saved the life of Colonel Bill, an American soldier, many years ago. It's probably part of the reason Corozón's father was murdered. They believe they are fleeing to safety but don't know about the family-separation policy. 

While they flee northward, the daughter and friend of the DOJ employee who has become the face of the policy attend a birthday party. But they don't make it home. Someone wants young Kyra's father to feel the pain of the separated families. 

Thanks to a nighttime photo snapped by a freelancer, Corozón's terror at having her little brother pried from her resonates with many. A Washington Post reporter joins Colonel Bill to try to find the family. But the DOJ isn't helping nearly as much to get young Kyra released. 

Two families, different circumstances, scary options. 

Fiction authors sometimes try to avoid bringing their corner of the real world into their Twitter or Facebook pages. We want people to think of our works, not causes we advocate or protest. Other times, we feel we have to take a stand. When politicians start seizing children from their parents, I speak out. I put my anger into the story of Corozón and her family who seek asylum in the US after her father is murdered for refusing to pay for gang "protection". The story is not hers alone. Through the eyes of two children, Corozón and Kyra, an American child, we see not only the sorrow but how people can come together to build justice and joy.