The Scent of Rain launch party at the Poisoned Pen Bookstore in Scottsdale, Arizona, was a standing room only sellout. The event, which I shared with the marvelous mystery writer Cindy Brown, was a wonderful time for me personally, because my three foster sons, Brandon, Ziggy and Troy were all there, in the same place at the same time. The book is dedicated to them. In fact, Adan, one of the main characters in the the story, a young man running from foster care, is based on experiences they’ve shared with me over the years.

The Scent of Rain tells Adan’s story along with that of Rose, who flees the strict tenants of the Fundamentalist Mormon Church, where her only future is marriage to a man older than her father, and where she is doomed to a world where her worth is based solely on how many children she can produce.

While The Scent of Rain is a work of fiction, Colorado City, Arizona is a real place where children like Rose live right now. And currently, in Arizona, there are over 18,000 children in the foster care system. Children are struggling everyday. Here’s hoping The Scent of Rain can, at least, make us think more about them and, perhaps, offer a helping hand.

I wrote The Scent of Rain for a number of reasons. One was to tell the story of a teenage boy running from foster care. I am the mother of three foster sons to whom the book is dedicated and whose stories inspired one of the main characters. My thanks and love to Ziggy, Troy, and Brandon. I am proud and humbled you call me Mom.