Elmhurst author and psychic pens paranormal romance

Born and raised in Elmhurst, paranormal romance author and intuitive psychic Anita Fonteboa told QNS that she knows and feels things before they happen.

“My gift is meant to help, inspire and guide others toward something better,” she said.

It’s no wonder that this spiritual Latina girl closely identifies with the main character in her must-read Gift Series, which follows Emma Duque, a gifted Latina from Queens, who is a psychic medium blessed with unique powers passed down through her family.

Fonteboa just released “Emma’s Light in the Darkness,” her second emotionally powerful book in the series (published June 2, 2026, with Oliver Heber Books). In this intriguing version, Emma’s gifts go completely silent, while a darkness closes in around her…echoes of “Ghost Whisperer” meets “The Sixth Sense.”

“Ghost Whisperer” was a CBS TV series that took viewers into the world of Melinda Gordon, who is able to communicate with ghosts, and helps them resolve earthly issues, so they can cross over to the afterlife, while the popular thriller, “The Sixth Sense,” follows a child psychologist who tries to help a troubled boy haunted by a chilling secret.

The author’s first book, “The Whimsical Gifts of Emma,” was released in November 2025, and, according to reviews, both books are addictive page-turners, with an epic plot twist or two at the end.

You can find the creative mom of two, who said she weaves intuition into the pages of her books, sipping a cafecito at a local cafe.

Fonteboa told QNS that when she writes, “There are moments when something just clicks, and the inspiration flows. It is woven right into the pages along with my powers of intuition.”

What is hidden in the darkness will always come to light…

In Book Two, “Emma’s Light in the Darkness,” Emma seems to have it all. She is engaged to the man she loves and recognized for her charitable work. Her gifts of sight and perception have guided her, but she has been warned to use them wisely and keep her ego in check. Then, after a tragic accident, everything changes! Family and friends turn away. Her fiancé’s ex-girlfriend returns, determined to reclaim him. And worst of all, Emma’s gifts go silent…no visions, no intuition and her celestial guide is gone.

She has never felt so alone. As her world unravels, darkness grows around her, threatening all that she holds dear and her gift of light. Is she losing her mind, or is something far more sinister stalking her? With the darkness closing in, Emma is faced with the fight of her life.

With her special gift as an empath, Fonteboa is able to tap into a “sixth sense” to get insights about a person through their energy (aura or vibrational field) and emotions, while using her psychic abilities to perceive information from external spiritual sources. This subtle yet powerful technique enhances her ability to help those who are seeking guidance, peace and clarity on their spiritual journey.

“I based Emma’s story right here in Queens. The culture, the family dynamics, the Spanish that lives naturally in the conversations between characters, is all here because I am from Queens. I wrote this from a personal place and that’s what gives it its texture,” the author, who currently lives in Elmhurst, shared.

“I knew I wanted a setting I could write about from the inside, and nothing made more sense than the borough I grew up in! Queens is where the world lands when it flies into New York. That texture is woven into every page, without me having to manufacture it. I just had to look out my window.”

“Queens shaped everything, and it lives inside every page of these books.”

QNS: Why are you intrigued by the paranormal and how did you know you had psychic powers?

Anita Fonteboa: It was gradual. The pandemic triggered something in a lot of people, and for me, it was a rush of energy and a knowing of things, akin to my awakening. I had gone through a bout of depression and sought therapy. My first therapist kept canceling. Found a second one. Same thing. That is when I really spoke to the divine and asked for help. Not long after, I woke up one morning feeling lighter. Something had shifted. Similar to what Eckhart Tolle describes in ‘The Power of Now.’ That was my awakening!

QNS: Tell readers how you’ve helped, inspired and guided people toward something better.

AF: I was told on more than one occasion that after speaking with me, something clicked. It is as if an idea became clearer. Others have shared that after listening to my podcast, something within them shifted. Which I completely get; there are times when nothing is going your way, and you come across a quote that lifts your spirits out of nowhere. That is the divine. The signs are always around you. You just have to stop long enough to truly see them.

QNS: Who is the Ghost Whisperer in Book Two?

AF: In my new book, ‘Emma’s Light in the Darkness,’ Emma carries the same magic as the young woman in ‘Ghost Whisperer,’ who could see and communicate with the dead and help earthbound spirits cross over into the light.

Emma’s celestial guide, Angel, goes silent. Her gifts disappear. Her fiancé’s ex is back in the picture and wants him back. There’s lots of drama and sweet spice, high stakes and a darkness that follows Emma.

QNS: What is the meaning behind: “What is hidden in the darkness will always come to light?”

AF: This is good versus evil. You have darkness in this world, but everything hidden in it always surfaces. Why? Because you are the light. The light takes out the darkness…it never gets the last word.

QNS: How does Queens live inside every page of your books?

AF: I have often heard, ‘to write what you know,’ and I know this borough, as I grew up here. It’s not just a backdrop in these books; it is the setting. In Book One, ‘The Whimsical Gifts of Emma,’ Emma lives on 86th Street in Jackson Heights. She grabs a coffee at La Nueva Bakery in her neighborhood on 37th Avenue and walks down 82nd Street to catch the No. 7 train to Penn Station. The diversity, the energy, the food, the people – it’s all there because it is all mine. I did not have to imagine Queens, as I live here every day.

Blend on the Water restaurant in Long Island City also appears in Book One. It sits right by the waterfront, and it’s one of my favorite spots; my husband and I love walking around that area and it’s so relaxing. And I also went there for research. It’s where they used to do the Fourth of July fireworks. In Book Two, ‘Emma’s Light in the Darkness,’ Emma’s parents live in East Meadow, Long Island, and there are scenes near Co-op City in the Bronx. But Queens is always home base!

QNS: Share some tidbits about “The Whimsical Gifts of Emma” meets “Practical Magic.”

AF: My first book is a romantasy. Emma is part of a Latina family that feels like the family in ‘Practical Magic.’ Think of aunts Jet and Frances in that film, and that magic passed down through generations. In my book, it is Grandmother Ariana and Tia Fatima who guide Emma and her sister Liz, teaching them how to make spiritual baths and helping them learn to use their gifts. Instead of a spell book, they have their El Libro De Magia Paz — the family book of ‘peace through magic.’ Then there is Ryan Garcia, a doctor, and Emma’s love interest. The more time he spends around her, the more he can’t get her out of his head. You know that movie, ‘There’s Something About Mary,’ where everyone who meets Mary is just drawn to her? Well, there’s something about Emma!

QNS: What was the spark of inspiration that made you realize these stories had to be written?

AF: A dream. I was Emma. I lived her entire life from beginning to end in one dream. I lived her dream before I wrote her. We carry similar gifts, and I am sprinkled into it.

I woke up, and it would not leave me alone…that was the divine at play. The dream was the catalyst, the beginning of this whole beautiful story.

QNS: Which part was the most difficult to write about?

AF: The darkness. I do not like to stay in that energy. I am a person who lives in the light, so getting into that mindset of what evil would do was hard for me.

QNS: As a mom and author, how do you deal with writer’s block?

AF: I enjoy meditating because it calms me down and helps me let go of all the worries we tend to overthink. Going for walks at my local park helps too. I will walk away from what I’m working on for a week or so because sometimes, through those walks or after meditation, the ideas just pop in. You cannot force it. You have to let it find you.

QNS: How much is based on your own life within these stories?

AF: A bit of it is similar. When you meet someone who has gifts like Emma’s, or like my own, you share a bond because no one else understands the little things that happen. The answering machine was going off when nothing was wrong with it. Seeing a shadow under the door when the kids were in their rooms and just knowing…it was my husband’s friend who had passed, coming to visit. I felt it. I knew it. Those moments are real, and they live in these pages.

QNS: Any writing quirks or rituals to help you get words on the page?

AF: My best ideas show up in the shower. I keep my phone close because the moment I step out, I am dictating into my notes before the idea disappears. Meditation works the same way. Get still, and the story finds you. The shower, it turns out, has excellent acoustics for plot problems.

QNS: Looking back, what was your favorite chapter or scene to pen?

AF: In Book One, I loved the moment Emma bumps into Ryan at Penn Station. And then the feather drifts down from the sky and lands on his shoulder. In The Gift Series, whenever a feather appears, it is always tied to Emma, and it is always a divine message. As for Book Two, my favorite moment is the twist. And that is all I’m saying about that. You will have to read it to find out.

QNS: Where do you like to eat and do fun things in Queens? Any side gigs, hobbies?

AF: If you want to find me, look for Pollos Mario’s on Roosevelt Avenue and Pio Pio on Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights. When you step inside Pio Pio, it has that Manhattan vibe, but it’s in Queens. The chicken and white sangria are a must…delicious. I also love walking down to the waterfront near LIC, by the Pepsi-Cola sign. My husband and I also love walking the track at Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village. Then there is the Astoria Pool waterfront area, where the street is closed to cars. You feel the breeze off the water, and everything slows down. Queens has so many hidden gems!

As for hobbies, I was a mommy blogger back in 2010 under QueensNYCMom, one of those stay-at-home moms, who discovered blogging, built a community, attended events and wrote about life in Queens. I even got interviewed by NY1 News. You can find that here: youtu.be/Xi5s8njGMyI?si=pYdya9EP5jJDMftO. When my kids got older, and the pandemic hit, I pivoted, and my podcast Anita Inspires was born. Then I pivoted again, and the books came to be.

QNS: What is the message or feeling you hope readers carry with them after they finish the final chapter of your new book?

AF: You are never truly alone, even when it feels that way. The divine is always around you. All you have to do is ask. You are the light…the light is in you!

Readers can find “Emma’s Light in the Darkness” at books2read.com/ELITD and “The Whimsical Gifts of Emma” at books2read.com/TWGOE. Both are available at Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, Amazon and other retailers. The eBook is also available through Kindle Unlimited on Amazon.

Fonteboa also hosts a podcast called “Anita Inspires” on YouTube and has an active social media presence across Instagram, TikTok and Facebook: @authoranitafonteboa.