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

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.

Top Ten Latino Books, 2012

     Fifteen years ago I sat in Aimee Bender's Introduction to Fiction class at UCLA and wrote the following two lines:  Human dreams had been written in archaic Spanish, and terrible sins described in faded brown ink on whisper-thin paper.  The entire spectrum of love was examined: practical jokes and puns, recipes for desperate wives and artistic poisoners, centuries of words put down for those who followed.
     I'd been listening to my mom's Sandoval stories while flat on my back with a bad case of sciatica, but I'd heard these tales my whole life: the Sandoval sisters were spinsters and reputedly also witches.  They'd adopted two Anglo brothers whose parents had died on the trail to Santa Fe. My mind focused on the witchcraft, which I liked, and less to my taste, the spinster aspect, which meant no sex.  Or did it?
     I took more classes, joined two writing groups, and wrote the book from the orphaned Anglo children's POV, making one of them a girl.  Poor Anglo babies were tagged as Sandovals:  Our Anglo last name disappeared and we became the Sandoval children on every legal document of that time, but we were not la gente.  We were the children of the Sandoval witches.
     My agent said I had the makings of two, possibly three books, on the Sandovals.  I rewrote the story, transforming all the flashbacks into the present.  The story focuses on the sisters, with only a bit of precognition announcing the future generation of Sandovals at the end of the book.
     The novel reflects Santa Fe's unique position in history:  it was the first foreign capital conquered by the U.S.  Thousands of Anglo soldiers entered the town, assuredly having an effect on the residents, especially the women, but not a word has been written from a female perspective.  Until now.
     It's not easy marketing a historical novel about Mexicans who were already here-in what would become the contiguous U.S.- published by a small press and written by an unknown writer.  The Mexican American War is the least written about subject in our history.  If I could have figured out how to work Abraham Lincoln into the plot, I would have had an easier time of it.  I preferred directing my talents, and imagination, to the sex I wanted the Sandoval Sisters to have.  Just kidding. Not really.

       So . . . I'm pleased to announce that I've been included in a top 10 list selected by The Latino Author.com.  The list includes a Pulitzer prize winner, a National Book award winner, NY Times bestsellers and writers of memoirs, romance, and short stories:  

Top Ten Best Books By Latino Authors In 2012

1) This is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz.

This is a selection of short stories depicting love, relationships, and heartbreak. Mr. Díaz uses his skill of writing to bring his characters to life.

2) A Wedding in Haiti by Julia Alvarez.

A memoir depicting the author’s relationship with a Haitian farmer named Piti. It captures things that are witnessed during her unusual relationship with this farmer as well as how her trips to this place impact and affect her.

3) Have You Seen Marie? by Sandra Cisneros.

This book captures the quest of a girl in search of her cat right after the death of her mother. The search creates an internal transformation of the character Sandy. The beautiful poetic writing brings the book to life.

4) The Distrance Between Us by Reyna Grande.

A memoir depicting the author’s early years as she and her siblings are left behind with their grandparents in Mexico while the parents enter the United States illegally. It is a heartfelt story.

5) The Sandoval Sisters’ Secret of Old Blood by Sandra Ramos O’Briant.

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.

6) We the Animals by Justin Torres.

As you read this book, you may think you are reading “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros; although, this book is about a dysfunctional family whereas Ms. Cisneros’ book is not. The book is written with the same style and flavor and uses a vignette structure to tell the story. The author is quick witted and uses a very clever style of writing.

7) All That Glitters by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez.

A powerful story bringing two unlikely characters together through which a bond and friendship is developed. In this friendship they find strength, love, and success.

8) Killing the American Dream: How Anti-Immigration Extremists are Destroying the Nation by Pilar Marerro.

This is a book that should be read by everyone interested in the immigration issues of the United States. The author skillfully and objectively captures the problems of immigration today omitting much of the political and technical jargon.

9) Secret Saturdays by Torrey Maldonado. 

This story captures the life of an inner city kid and gets into the minds and souls of how they think and feel. Although the story is fiction, it is so real.

10) Looking for Esperanza by Adriana Páramo.

This is an excellent book depicting the hidden world of undocumented female farmworkers and the struggles that they endure on a daily basis just to survive. This is a very powerful book.

http://www.thelatinoauthor.com/top/