The Mango Bride tells part of the story, through the lives of two Filipino women forced into exile by circumstances of their birth and dictates of Philippine culture.

What I found actually contradicts both proponents and critics of the notion of "traditional marriage." In fact, the only people who practice America's first marriage tradition are often the butts of jokes today.

Everyone has something to offer. The older men represent security. The young Colombian women represent not dying alone. Everyone has needs.

My novel, The Little Bride, begins in a basement in Odessa, where 16-year-old maidservant Minna Losk is being given her "Look" - an examination to see if she's sufficiently "fit" (i.e., "virginal") to become a mail-order bride to America.