An Evening with Grace Santamaria

***Please note: This event will take place at the Books & Books in Coral Gables at 265 Aragon Avenue. Tickets are FREE and books will be available for purchase at the event. Can't make the event?

For fans of Karla Cornejo Villavicencio and Tita Ramirez, a contemporary women’s fiction novel about a driven Latina woman navigating career, immigration struggles, and unexpected romance in vibrant Miami.

When Sofia loses her coveted job, her American dream is on the line. With her U.S. work visa hanging by a thread, a job interview at a top Miami marketing firm is her last shot at staying in the country. But as she navigates the high-stakes competition, she finds herself irresistibly drawn to her chief rival for the position—charming and ambitious Esteban.

Esteban embodies the glamorous Miami lifestyle Sofia has always admired, and he's unbothered by their rivalry. But for Sofia, everything is at stake. She can’t bring herself to tell him how much this job means to her, nor that her future depends on securing it. With her visa expiring, mounting family pressures, and bills piling up, Sofia faces an impossible choice: win the job, or risk returning to a life she fought so hard to leave behind.

Can Sofia claim the career—and the love—she longs for, or will her dreams slip through her fingers just as they're within reach?

Grace Santamaria is a Colombian American author of contemporary fiction. Her debut novel, Sea Salt and Coffee Beans, is coming out in fall 2025 from Rising Action Publishing. Through storytelling, Grace hopes to join the new wave of Latin voices raising awareness about the Latin diaspora, while highlighting themes of women’s empowerment and workplace equality.Grace has a BBA from Florida International University and an MBA from NOVA Southeastern University. For the past fifteen years she’s worked in marketing roles in different consumer products companies, usually focusing on Latin American countries.Grace grew up in Barranquilla, Colombia, and now lives in Miami with her husband, children, and overly enthusiastic golden retriever.

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