Laura from the Valley

"You're going to go live with your uncle Hector..." The words that change the trajectory of 11-year-old Laura's world. Her days being passed in the hot desert air, seeking money to pay her uncle rent; her nights wandering dark alleyways and deserted streets while Hector entertains women with drug-filled parties. A book that spans two years of a young girl's life, Laura comes into her own as a woman, seeking refuge with Luz, a prostitute who works with her uncle; Bea, Luz's aunt, who provides work for her in the form of doing her shopping and helping clean her house; and Leroy, the owner of a diner across the street from Hector’s apartment who gives Laura free meals for helping out. A tale of survival, Laura from the Valley tells of books, blood, the earth, and the power of a young woman in the most trying of circumstances, making for a story that's difficult, real, but ultimately triumphant.

Mark Gregory Lopez was born and raised in a city by the sea. He matriculated at the University of Texas in Austin, earning a BA in English and a Bachelors in Journalism. He also earned his MFA in Poetry from Columbia University in the city of New York. His journalistic writings have appeared in UT Law Magazine, CHAOS Magazine, The Weekly Alibi, Music OMH, Corpus Christi Caller-Times and The Bend Magazine. His poems have appeared, or are forthcoming, in The Maynard, Borderlands, Juked, Feels So Good, Eunoia Review and Bacopa Literary Review.