A Book Deal: Or How an Obsession with Soccer Led to a Book

It's a cliché to let your curiosity inspire you, but it took me the last two years to really understand it. 

I've always had a bit of an obsessive personality, which is usually channeled into harmless activities like computer games or TV shows. Two years ago, I spent a majority of 2023 thinking about and watching international soccer, from the Premier League to MLS to various national teams. Growing up in Venezuela, I always loved the World Cup, and watching it in December 2022 reignited my interest. I followed players like Messi, Neymar, Pulisic, and Son in their respective teams, and it led me down the rabbit hole of international soccer. Since then, I've watched a few games live (a Premier League game in London, a USMNT friendly with Ghana, and the COPA America semifinal between Uruguay and Brazil), and I mostly follow the Premier League (I support Tottenham Hotspur, but I'm not sure why I put myself through that stress).

Towards the end of 2023, it finally dawned on me that maybe I should channel all of that energy into writing a novel about soccer and the World Cup. . .which is what I did. I wrote a fun story about three 13-year-olds who help solve a mystery of the disappearance of a soccer superstar on the eve of the 2026 World Cup. 

And now I'm so excited to announce that STEALING THE SCORE will come out in Spring 2026, to coincide with the World Cup coming to the U.S in Summer 2026! I'll be working with Anjali Bisaria at Scholastic--she is also a huge soccer fan, so we've already bonded over our shared love of the sport. ​

So this is my almost-too-obvious creative writing tip: write about the things that take up a good portion of your attention and thinking space.

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Name a Character Giveaway!

To celebrate this deal, I'm giving away a chance to name a character in STEALING THE SCORE. ​

To enter:

1) you must be a subscriber to my newsletter
2) reply to this email (or to the welcome email if you subscribe after seeing this post) with one word that will represent your year, and the name you would like me to use for a character. My word for 2025 is INTENTION. 

Giveaway ends Friday, January 24. Good luck!

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