Bienveinido a The Chocoverse!

Bo Benitez, former telenovela star, finds herself facing an impossible choice. After samples of Earth’s resources are harvested by an alien species and shared with the galaxy, chocolate is the only unique thing Earth has left. But there are rumbles towards a galactic war to force Earth to share. As a media spokesperson, Bo is about to be sent to a facility where she could conceivably steal an unfermented cacao pod. If she does, it could stop the war. But she would be betraying her planet. And she will have to face the consequences, including an assassin with a heart and a venomous galactic cop.

The Chocoverse is a homage to the cheesiness of the telenovela tradition, complete with all the heart and optimism that implies. There’s a lot in the series about overcoming prejudice and finding family inside blended cultures and backgrounds. The messages of love, mercy, and hope run through all three books, summed up by a media campaign to save the Earth centered around the slogan Mercy Is a Gift.
After her telenovela career failed amidst scandal, Bo ran to the other side of the galaxy and enrolled in cooking school. It made sense – her mother is the world’s biggest galactic celebrity chef. She gets drawn back home when her alien boyfriend convinces her to steal the source of chocolate. She winds up in trouble, running for her life, into danger bigger than she ever imagined — and an opportunity to change the entire galaxy forever.

Through the course of the trilogy, Bo has to learn the hard way that self-worth doesn’t come from popularity, the media, or even the other people who care about her. But can she handle being pushed back into the spotlight, after fleeing in shame?

Also see the short story When Kromish Eyes are Smiling in the Fall 2019 Edition of Amazing Stories!