Love and Other Sins follows the chaos that ensues when Mina and Oliver get caught between a brutal tug-of-war. Oliver and Mina develop a strong bond as the threads of their old lives begin to unravel, and they must reckon with a family history that violently refuses to remain in the past.

Oliver’s life is purgatory until he moves to Los Angeles and is on his way to becoming one of the most successful seventeen-year-old electronics hustlers in the country. Oliver wants to start from scratch-complete with a new name and emancipation papers. Meanwhile, Oliver Mondell is ready to burn down his old life. Mina’s life is going according to plan until she is transferred into a public high school and gets held at knifepoint in an alley. Love and Other Sins is a contemporary young adult series about Mina Arkova, a good student with a nonexistent social life. The Love and Other Sins series is a new beginning for me as a storyteller after spending many years telling other peoples’ stories through the craft of acting. One that paints a very different portrait in its portrayal of Oliver Mondell’s life, a child abuse survivor who grew up in the foster care system and is moving to Los Angeles for a fresh start. A story that evokes the unparalleled rush of first love in all its dreamlike and naive complications, one that portrays a fiercely acerbic Russian American teenager, Mina Arkova, and her first-generation tough-as-nails mother. Ten years ago, I embarked on a writing journey to tell the story I wish I could have read as a teen. To find out more, visit or follow on Instagram. She is passionate about storytelling, community, and supporting organizations like NCMEC and RAINN. A California native, Emilia lives in Los Angeles with her husband, children, and 13 thriving plants. Emilia graduated from UCLA with her Bachelor’s in Economics and a Minor in Russian. Emilia Ares is an Armenian-American actress best known for American Horror Story and Bosch, co-producer of Burden and author of Love and Other Sins.

Love and other sins by emilia ares