As a teenager in 1988, Javier Robayo came to the United States from Ecuador. He knew only three phrases in English: yes, no and I don't know.

“We arrived in August, and I had to start school soon then,” Robayo said. “I spent my time writing, first in Spanish, then in English. It helped me to learn English.”

He continued to practice his craft through high school in Connecticut and some college at Slippery Rock University, and now the Butler resident has written whole books in English.

The full-blown novelist has two books to his credit so far. “The Gaze” was published in March and a sequel, “The Next Chapter,” is finished.

“The Gaze” is about a young woman named Samantha and her tumultuous life. Later in the story, Samantha tries to insert herself into a former lover's life through an online friend request to his wife and must choose between the woman she wants to be and the one who can't stand her own gaze.

In “The Next Chapter,” Samantha and her story return with the themes of love and friendship.

Robayo always enjoyed writing, but then family life and work took over. He married the former Sheri Wilbert of Butler County and they have two daughters. Plus he works a full-time job as a crane operator at AK Steel.

“I got really busy and couldn't really write much,” Robayo said.

But with the encouragement of a friend, Robayo managed to eke out 20,000 words with no problem and realized “I might have something that could go somewhere.”

He decided if the story he had written could interest his wife and his father, then he would proceed.

Well, the story moved his wife to tears and impressed his father.Then through Facebook, he met established author John W. Huffman.“I asked him how he got his books out there,” Robayo said. “I let him read my synopsis, and then he wanted to read more of it,” Robayo said about “The Gaze.”With Huffman's encouragement, Robayo brought “The Gaze” to the marketplace. Huffman even has a comment on the book's jacket, saying “The Gaze” “leads one through a compelling tale of intrigue, love and ultimate redemption in a dark journey filled with surprising twists and turns.”“The Gaze” is written from a woman's point of view, but not by design.“I wrote the original prologue of 'Gaze' from the male perspective,” Robayo said. “Nobody knows the female mind like another female, but my closest relationships have been with girls. I don't presume to know everything of a girl's mind, but as I got into writing the character, it started taking over the story.“I didn't set out to write it from a girl's point of view, it just happened.”“The Next Chapter,” a sequel to “The Gaze,” is written from the male lead's perspective and is due to be released in late-August.This book came about because Robayo said he “wasn't ready to let go of these people yet.”These two novels are being published through CreateSpace, a publishing branch of Amazon.com.“The Gaze” is 500 pages and is available on Robayo's website, www.javierrobayo.com, or on Amazon.Robayo is currently at work on his third book, “My Two Flags,” which examines what happens when the dream of living in America becomes reality.

Javier Robayo