Verónica Gutiérrez is a former community organizer, civil rights attorney, municipal employee, non-profit leader, and corporate executive. She draws from years of experience in those worlds for her writing. Verónica was born and raised in Boyle Heights, the Los Angeles neighborhood that her protagonist, Yolanda Avila, P.I., calls home. Verónica and her wife Laura split their time between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Both are home bar enthusiasts and avid travelers. They host cocktail-lesson-themed fundraisers--called Mixology on a Mission--to help Los Angeles non-profits grow their donor base. Verónica published My Little Black Cocktail Book, a journal to organize her research and help others do the same. Some of the recipes she collects make it into her writing.