I extend my highest recommendation to Ms. Aura Imbarus, who was gracious enough to participate in our author speaker series at Long Beach City College’s Marian Sims Baum Center for Creative Writing. Aura spoke on April 15th, only a week after she had returned from an overseas trip, yet her energy and passion were unabated. Rather than give a traditional reading, Aura engaged the audience by giving an oral rendition of her adventure into the world of literary prose and memoir. This resulted in immediate captivation of the student and faculty audience. They were drawn into her adventures and found themselves participating in her journey from the dark Transylvanian night, toward the light of the California dream. This was a reading unlike any I had ever attended, and I was incredibly thankful to Aura for entering into a conversation with the audience.