About Manuel
I was born in Belize in the early 1990s, about a decade after the country won its independence from Britain. Belize sits where the Caribbean meets Central America and belongs to both, and it is the only country in Central America whose official language is English.
Today I make my home in Compton, California, a city of about 96,000 people at the heart of Los Angeles County, long known as the Hub City. Most of my neighbors there are Latino or Black.
My roots are West Indian and Afro-Latino. One word carries the English-speaking Caribbean; the other carries African heritage handed down through Latin America. I came to the United States from Belize as an immigrant and I am an American citizen.
I was raised by my family and my community, and I have siblings. I am married and have no children.
I trained as an emergency medical technician, worked as a caregiver looking after people who needed help day to day, and worked in warehouse logistics, keeping freight and stock moving. At home, I am the family handyman.
I wrote the novels. The covers and chapter engravings are AI-generated illustrations, made from briefs I wrote from the novels and approved myself; Research and fiction gives the full credit.
AI was used for prose, editing, and artwork in both books under my direction. Research and fiction gives the existing credits.
