Love, Life and Everything

Ricardo "Ricky" Santistevan, Jr is the head counselor for Encantado Schools.  He is the son Ricardo Santistevan, Sr who owns the bus company.  He was driving the bus when he dated Laura when she was a teenager.  To those who don't know him, he is calm, cool, and collected.  But to those who do, they know he has a temper and is often impetuous.  He also has an unnatural ability to read body language and the intentions behind them.  When reflecting on a past scenario, he can recall actions, intentions, etc, that he may not have been able to pick up on in the moment.  There are other aspects of his abilities that have not come to full fruition yet.  He thought he had this ability well hidden, but Laura was able to figure it out, as were the "bad guys." Murphy knew of Ricky's ability long ago when he posed as one of Ricky's psychology professors in college.  Without Ricky truly realizing it, Murphy had helped him sharpen his ability, knowing he w...

Murphy is a man of mysteries and many special abilities.  Some of his abilities include mind reading, empathic abilities, and many others that he has yet to divulge. He was born in Spain.  No one is fully sure what he's capable of, but as a mentor to both Laura and Ricky in their younger years, he helped them hone their own abilities.   No one knows what his real name is.  Laura has always known him as Murphy.  Ricky knew him as Professor Montenegro... Steven knows him as something else, but won't say.  He sees Laura as a daughter, and it's clear he feels a special connection to Ricky, though he won't divulge any information to Laura.  Laura only found out about Murphy's time as Ricky's professor when Ricky "met" Murphy for the first time after his escape from Camila's house. Although Laura can feel emotions, and Ricky can read body language, Murphy is able to hide a lot from the two of them through disciplined mental abilities. He can shield his ...

Agent Laura Sullivan is a petite yet feisty redheaded empath. She was placed as a kindergarten teacher at Encantado Elementary School to investigate the strange disappearances of local children and the sudden disappearance of the agent placed there prior to her.  Her abilities are growing, but she can't conceive of anything better than being able to feel other's emotions.  She has warned Ricky and others, that if a person can feel something, they can also manipulate it. She was recruited by the agency as a teenager after her tragic breakup with Ricardo "Ricky" Santisevan, Jr., who was the school's bus driver at the time.  They had been framed, and he broke up with her because he believed she lied about their relationship because she never loved him.  The truth was she lied to save him from going to jail. Upon returning to Encantado, she is ordered to reconnect with him to help discover who is behind the disappearances.  Part of her is reluctant because of her pe...

This is for people who've read the book.  It's simply to refresh your memory.  If you haven't read the book, this will give you a glimpse into the world of Ricky and Laura and the agency they work for.  But it won't give you the intricacies of their inner world or the flow of the book that made so many people unable to put the book down.  In-depth character profiles will follow this summary.      Agent Laura Sullivan, an empath, is placed undercover in Encantado Elementary as a Kindergarten teacher.  She's there to investigate the strange disappearances of children in the area, and the disappearance of the undercover agent placed there before her. She's ordered by her supervisor, Murphy, to reconnect with her former boyfriend, Ricardo "Ricky" Santistevan, Jr., who is now the head counselor for the school district. Together, they discover that the mystery is deeper than they thought. They encounter much resistance through Jose, Ricky's former best ...

    Because I know it's been a bit since everyone read book 1, every week, I'll be putting the profile of one of the characters from my first book in anticipation of my 2nd book. These characters will be returning in Book 2. I'll start with a brief summary of the book, and post one key returning character each week after.

When I was in Home Depot last summer, I was on the phone with my husband.  He said I needed to get a measuring tape to keep in my car.  The good kind, not a cheap one.  I said I would go and look for one.  I was in the conduit section and needed to measure something.  But, I turned around as I was talking to him, and, low and behold, there's the exact brand he wanted me to get sitting in a PVC fittings box.  Synchronicity is defined as an apparently meaningful coincidence in time of two or more similar or identical events that are causally unrelated.  People often take them as personal messages from the universe that mean something.  It could be significant, or it could be something small.  There are many areas of synchronicity, numbers, nature, objects, stars, weather, spirituality, dreams, thoughts, etc. Some people totally ignore the synchronicity in their lives, and others delve into complete superstition regarding it.  I feel ...

  Last year, during my birthday month, I did an extreme gratitude challenge.  I didn't just focus on one gratitude each day. I ended up with over 300 by the end of the month because I did 1 the 1st day, 2 the 2nd day, 3 the 3rd day, etc. During that month, I felt a profound change in myself, I recovered from negativity faster, I was sick less, and others around me appeared happier.  I shared my gratitudes on my Facebook page.  Many people didn't think I could have that many different things to be grateful for, but each day, it got easier to find things to be grateful for, and I was able to find the positive in many negative experiences.  For example, the person I grew into as a result of my husband's illness was something I had a lot of gratitude for. Well, after the month was over, I often forgot to practice gratitudes daily.  And, while practicing such an extreme challenge for a month did carry over for quite a while, about halfway through the year, my li...