Asian singer-composer Bella Mariposa can't ignore the difficulties in her marriage to physician Daniel Miranda. In hopes of salvaging her union and regaining some sense of balance not only for her, but also for her children, she flees to a spiritual retreat in Hollywood. At the retreat, she meets Father Derek Lindenberg, a priest trying to come to terms with the heavy ordeal of stifling his human feelings to fit the unyielding framework of his priesthood. The two form a close bond and then, the unexpected happens: they fall deeply, irrevocably in love. But how can they survive the grueling twists and turns of the machinery of life? What follows is a gripping story of how the incessant pendulum of our daily lives can act erratically; how seemingly predictable and certain things, like those borne of tradition and religious beliefs, can suddenly be displaced and challenged; and how the forces of love and fate will test the unbending rules of customs, traditions, and religious beliefs. The Velvet Thorn uncovers the subtle shades of emotion that, though muffled by convention, forges its way to escape and express itself in the most wonderful prism of colors that only love can see and understand. | The Velvet Thorn by Olivia Villa-real, Paperback | Indigo Chapters