Betty Viamontes was born in Havana, Cuba. In 1980, at age fifteen, she and her family arrived to the United States on a shrimp boat to reunite with her father after twelve years of separation. "Waiting on Zapote Street," based on her family's story, was her first novel. She also published an anthology of short stories, all of which take place on Zapote Street and include some of the characters from her first novel.
Betty’s stories have traveled the world, from the award-winning Waiting on Zapote Street to the No. 1 New Amazon re-leases "The Girl from White Creek," "The Pedro Pan Girls: Seeking Closure," and "Brothers: A Pedro Pan Story."
Other works include:
Havana: A Son’s Journey Home
The Dance of the Rose
Under the Palm Trees: Surviving Labor Camps in Cu-ba
Candela’s Secrets and Other Havana Stories
Like Finding Water in the Desert (a collaboration between four authors).
Betty Viamontes lives in Florida with her family and pursued graduate studies at the University of South Florida.