Writing
Books, Movies, Bylines.
Carlos' debut novel, "And Then They Fell in Rome" now available in Paperback and eBook on Amazon and other online retailers. In this romantic mosaic of interconnected stories, five Latino college friends—self-dubbed The Troubadours—embark on an unforgettable spring break in Rome, vowing to make memories that will last a lifetime. Years later, scattered across cities, careers, and heartbreaks, they find themselves still searching: for meaning, for connection, and for a love that feels like destiny. From Rome to Paris, New York to Casablanca, their lives intersect. Juan Fernandez, the self-appointed leader, hides behind wit and looks to avoid surrendering to love. Charlie Costa, the devout idealist, holds fast to faith in a world that tempts him to compromise. Brian Verdugo writes movies to make sense of heartbreak. Freddy Bustamante drowns chaos in writing and a good time. And Jan Larose—the observer, the dreamer—keeps the Troubadours together even as his own heart splinters between past and future. When a mysterious Stranger enters their orbit, claiming that one of them is doomed to die if they don't fall in love again, the five discover that their stories may not be theirs alone. That their choices echo across space and time, watched over by something, perhaps Someone, greater.
Carlos 2nd novel, "Angel Letters of Esther," out Christmas 2026. After meeting at the Miami Grand Prix, Esther Consuelos and Jan Luis Larose discover that their parents once shared a brief romance in Italy. Convinced their encounter may be divinely arranged, Esther invites Jan to Rome, where a weekend of temptation, confession, and unexpected intimacy forces them to decide whether destiny negates free will. When Esther joins a quantum-research startup in Lyon, their relationship is tested by distance, sexual guilt, trauma, and Jan's fear that losing Esther would also destroy his faith. Meanwhile, Esther's longtime admirer Ezra begins falling for her friend Maricelis, opening an unforeseen path toward healing for them both. Moving through their lives is Ariel, a mysterious woman who appears in dreams, memories, and moments that seem to exist outside time. As Esther's research begins blurring the boundaries between science, faith, and alternate possibilities, she and Jan are confronted with versions of the lives they might have chosen. Their journey eventually returns them to the Trevi Fountain, where love, providence, and free will converge. Told through shifting perspectives and letters, Angel Letters of Esther asks whether soulmates are destined... or created each time two people freely choose one another. Angel Letters of Esther is a steamy, soulful, genre-bending love story about faith and doubt, loneliness and belonging, and the leap two people take when everything feels right and nothing makes sense. Set between Miami, Rome, Amsterdam, and the glittering world of F1. Steamy, funny, and unapologetically spiritual. Book Two of The Romans series. But reads as a standalone. For readers of The Midnight Library, Maybe in Another Life, and One Italian Summer.
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