"True love can defeat the forces of time, distance, and foolish mistakes," Alicia Rivera

Antonio Pereira loves his work, homeland, and family- well, most of them. Only his wife, their distant and difficult relationship, is a disappointment.

The need to escape her and his own disastrous error in judgment will send him into the Amazon's wildest corners and then on to Europe. Here, he masquerades as a carefree bachelor married to his work.

Only two women know his secret. One is a beautiful Parisian courtesan. The other is the wife of Antonio's best friend. He loves them both but accepts the restrictions both women impose on that love.

Time and the unexpected deaths of both women leave Antonio indescribably lonely. A chance encounter in Valencia, Spain, gives him an opportunity to correct an earlier mistake, one that put him on the flawed trajectory of his life.

Before beginning her career as a storyteller, a term she prefers to novelist or writer, Diana Clark was an editor at Northland Press in Flagstaff, Arizona, and, later, the Publications Director at the Museum of Northern Arizona Press.

Her deepest interests, often the background for her stories, are Latin American political history and culture. She is an enthusiastic supporter of preservation, both cultural and natural, and, like all of us, Diana also loves a good romance.

Her education includes a Master's Degree in Latin American history from the University of Toledo and a Ph.D. in American history/political science from Northern Arizona University. She lives and works in Mazatlan, Mexico.