FINALIST, BEST ADULT FICTION AWARD, 2013 COLORADO AUTHORS' LEAGUE 

Ursula Frank, an 87-year-old woman, who has lived and seen it all, from Nazi-scorched Europe to pre-Castro Cuba, was looking for a clever exit from her mortal coil by going into East Los Angeles at night, looking for trouble. Unintentionally, she interrupts the gang initiation of Reuben Montanez, a 17-year-old good guy who was simply hoping for a better life than his honest, hard-working (deceased) brother.

Little does Reuben know, Ursula just might have the answer to his hopes of a better life, if only she can share it with him before it's too late—for both of them.

Logline: Determined to end her own life, a Holocaust survivor disrupts a gang initiation ritual, saving their latest recruit from himself.