PEACE LOVE & JOY DISCOUNT ON THE SANDOVAL SISTERS

As many of you know, the last few months have been rough on my family with two funerals, lots of travel, and a crushing workload for which we've had to play catch-up. There have been some high notes for me which have helped me keep my focus. The reviews for The Sandoval Sisters continue to be outstanding, and I want to share my good fortune with you.

Books make great presents. My gift to you is a special discount for the paperback version of The Sandoval Sisters’ Secret of Old Blood. $7.99 through the end of December. Go here to purchase: http://bit.ly/16J3A47

Be sure to enter this special discount code when you check out: UV8WT22L  

Peace, Joy, Love

Interview with the Historical Fiction Book Club

Interviewer is Candy Little of the Historical Fiction Book Club:

Are you a reader/writer? 

I was an avid reader before I wrote The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood, and remain one, although when I'm actively writing it's difficult for me to read books of a similar genre. Fortunately, there are no other historical fiction novels dealing with this time period and area of the U.S. I think that will soon change.

What are your fondest memories of reading? 

My childhood was lonely in New Mexico and the winters were long and cold. Our adobe home was heated by a free-standing gas appliance in the back of the house, so no warmth reached my room up front. Mom got a little portable electric heater which we put on a chair next to my bed. I read by the light of its toasty red beam late into the night and was transported to another world. I lost all sense of physical boundaries, of time and discomfort, and fought sleep. Even after the book ended, I walked around in a dream, still captured by its spell. Writing The Sandoval Sisters did much the same thing. The characters spoke to me, weaved their magic behind my eyes while I was making grocery lists or carpooling.

What are some of your favorite authors and books? 

I don't limit myself to one genre, but in the historical fiction category I prefer a variety of settings and time periods. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, The House of Spirits by Isabelle Allende, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, The Devils of Loudun by Aldous Huxley is nonfiction, but a huge influence. I own every book written by Antonia Fraser. Anne Rice's A Cry to Heaven and Feast of All Saints.

If you could describe what writing/reading means to you, how would you do so? 

Writing is a declaration of independence for me. It's an acceptance of the gluttonous fantasist which not only nourished my youth, but threatened to carry me off permanently. There were times when I questioned my sanity back then, only I put it in plainer terms, “What's wrong with me?” 

In those days I dreamt symphonies and technicolor adventures where I vanquished my fears (the enemy of creativity) and was loved and appreciated. That dream world was so real that I slept for 14 hours or longer, so important to me that when I was forced to go to school it was as if I sleepwalked through the halls, and barely noticed the stares or heard the jibes. Yeah, I was bullied (see the author's writing on Bullying here here and here.) 

In college, I used behavior modification to reduce my fantasy life. Fifteen minutes of study would net me forty-five minutes of daydreaming. Gradually, the ratio was reversed, until the day arrived when I daydreamed no more. Instead, I set goals and met them with a ferocity that had never been present in my life. I established a successful business, married and had children. Thank goodness I still read and took classes: anthropology, oceanography, astronomy, marine biology. 

After listening to my mom tell the story of our maternal ancestors, the Sandovals, I signed up for an Introduction to Fiction class at UCLA. Fantasies reentered my life; I put out the welcome mat for them. Woohoo! Only now I write them down, give them structure, and share them with readers all over the world.

Which book do you think was best adapted into a movie? Why? 

Two movies pop into mind, not so much for the sameness of book to movie, but for how the movie organized the material: The English Patient was a complicated book in terms of time jumps. The cinematic adaptation made those transitions seamlessly. I enjoyed both the book and film, but I'm glad I saw the movie first. The Hunger Games was a page turner, but I felt the movie developed character better. Been a while, but The Name of the Rose was made into an accessible movie.

Why do you like to read/write historical novels? 

I'm a lifelong learner, and while my high school history teacher bemoaned my lack of devotion to history (in the classroom), historical novels have sparked my curiosity for more history, and I've gone on to research the “facts” on my own. I've also developed preferences for how I like time periods and settings and wars and such to be written. I don't like the facts thrust at me in an intrusive fashion.

Write your favorite quote and explain why you picked it? 

Two quotes at the beginning of The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood:

Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.
Willa Cather

Memories play a huge role in my novel, and in my life. As Oratoria says on the first page, “Which are the more true, the memories then or those simmered over time?”

No Statue of Liberty ever greeted our arrival in this country...we did not, in fact, come to the United States at all. The United States came to us.

Luis Valdez

American Progress, John Gast, 1872

Manifest Destiny

In my research, before I had even decided to write a novel, I was trying to find an answer to why cultural and ethnic antagonisms existed in Santa Fe, to why I had been bullied. So, I read some history and learned more about New Mexico and America than I'd ever imagined. But my goal was not to indict anyone, just to understand. There is a worldview expressed by the Sandoval sisters and it's been shaped by my experience and what my research revealed.

Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself? Are you married? Any kids? Where do you live? 

I'm married and we raised two sons. We have a happy empty nest in Los Angeles that we've filled with a dog, a cat, and two quarrelsome parakeets.

Congratulations on your awards, Sandra!

The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood
Best Historical Fiction and Best First Book.

Thanks and Appreciation Goes to . . .

I'm writing this in my hotel room in NYC on the morning of my departure back to Los Angeles.  I came to Manhattan to attend the 15th annual International Latino Book Awards with no expectations, even though I was pleased that my book was a finalist in two categories.  My competitors are skilled writers.  

The picture to your right was taken after I received my first award. The Sandoval Sisters' Secret of Old Blood took home first place for Best Historical Fiction and Best First Book.  There are many people who helped and encouraged me, but I want to focus on The Latino Author site this morning.

Authors still have to do a lot of their own marketing: we often have to beg for reviews.  Imagine my surprise this past January when a venue I had not yet contacted (euphemism for beseeched, pleaded, nagged) included me in their list of top 10 books for 2012.  Not only that, The Latino Author slotted me into a #5 position after best-selling authors Junot Diaz, Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisneros, and Reyna Grande. 

“A brilliantly told story of the Sandoval Sisters and their life journeys during the mid-1800s. The author excellently interweaves much history of the United States and Mexico during that time. The book is written with great skill and talent.”

In some esteemed journals, book reviewers have begun to sound as if they’re walking a tightrope between keeping their jobs and telling the truth about what they really think.  What I like about Corina Martinez Chaudhry’s review in The Latino Author is that she sounds like a  book enthusiast who had an enjoyable read. Her inclusion of my book pumped me up at a time when my confidence was lagging.  My profound gratitude goes to her and The Latino Author for promoting my work.

From The Latino Author site:

What is the goal?

Can you imagine a world without writing, reading, books or being inspired?  Fortunately for us we live in a world of books from inspirational works to literary masterpieces.  It is these very things that inspired us to put this website together. 

•	We wanted to create a one-stop forum with writing tools, techniques, and information for emerging authors!
•	We wanted to inspire authors to write their “masterpiece” to share with the community and the world!
•	We wanted to provide a forum for readers to locate that special book and connect with their favorite author!
•	We wanted to showcase and extend the word on the many Latino authors that have inspired and enlightened us with their literary works and will continue to do so for many years to come!

Corina Martinez Chaudhry with Edward James Olmos

Who are we? A Leadership Team committed to making this forum the “Best-in-Class.”

We have a strong commitment to excellence and to bring more enthusiasm and passion to the Latino/Hispanic literary communities.  Our hope is to assist emerging authors realize their dream of writing and to broaden the sphere of author’s literary works.