I’m the author of the Yolanda Avila mystery series: As You Look (Goldie Award finalist) and Buried Seeds (Bella Books). I’m a former community organizer, civil rights attorney, and corporate executive. I draw from years of experience in those worlds for my fiction. I was born and raised in Boyle Heights, the Los Angeles neighborhood that my protagonist, Yolanda Avila, calls home. My wife Laura and I split our time between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We are both home bar enthusiasts and avid travelers. We host cocktail-lesson-themed fundraisers—called Mixology on a Mission—to help Los Angeles non-profits grow their donor base. I published My Little Black Cocktail Book, a journal to organize my research and help others do the same. For more, see www.veronicagutierrez.com