About this project

ESPERANZA FARM is the story of Paco Serrano, a 13 year-old Cuban boy trying to live a normal, even ambitious, life after his world is turned upside down in post-Revolution Cuba.

Here is a brief synopsis:

Paco Serrano and baseball are inseparable.

On the day that he was born, his very pregnant mother was at the stadium rooting for the local team. In the bottom of the seventh inning she went into labor and Paco arrived before the final out. Growing up, happiness and baseball are tied together, except, of course, for the time that he struck out for the final out with the bases loaded. But Paco’s dream of playing for Cuba’s national team ends on a day in October of ’62 when missiles are discovered not far from his home.

The international crisis that follows has not yet subsided when Paco’s parents apply for a U.S. visa. Whatever harassment and difficulty Paco faces while waiting to leave for America disappears each afternoon. That’s when the children of communists and counter-revolutionaries get together at the old ball field to play the game they love.

Paco’s story is about the pursuit of freedom and dignity and finding refuge wherever possible.

I can’t wait to share his story with the world. You can read the complete First Chapter HERE.

Besides a first printing, the funds raised will pay for copy editing the manuscript, for the ISBN fee, for producing an e-book edition and for the rights to use the wonderful cover photo by Johannes Frandsen – you can see his work HERE. I’d also like to produce a Spanish edition of the novel.

I expect to publish ESPERANZA FARM by October, 2010, to coincide with the 48th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. I will document my experiences on this journey towards publication and I will share them with you. In the meantime, I welcome you to check out the rewards I’ve put together and I would love for you to support this project.

I’m currently working on my second novel, a book about architecture, loss, alcoholism and redemption titled FROM MOUNTAIN ROAD TO EASY STREET. You can catch me reading an excerpt HERE.

Thanks for your interest and please let others know about ESPERANZA FARM.