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Showing posts from June, 2011

AUTHOR CAMEO....A.E. ROMAN

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Men this month.  Come meet A.E. Roman and his friend Chico.      A.E. Roman is the author of the Chico Santana Mysteries: CHINATOWN ANGEL, which was nominated for the Shamus Awards, and THE SUPERMAN PROJECT, which Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review. It also just won second place for Best Mystery Novel from the International Latino Book Awards. This native New Yorker – from the Bronx – was a teen rapper and read his poetry at the Nuyorican Poets Café. Alex is currently working on Chico’s third adventure, and a young adult novel entitled, SWEET 15, with his friend and writing partner, Emily Adler. Visit him at http://aeroman101.blogspot.com/  THE SUPERMAN PROJECT won 2nd place for Best Mystery Novel from 2010 International Latino Book Awards! 

CELEBRATING MEN: THE FIFTH KINGDOM'S BILL SANTANA

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Men this whole month.  Today, we are joined by author Caridad Pineiro and her latest hero, Bill Santana.  He's definitely one worth reading about.  And to check out the book video, click here .   Happy Reading.  And, as always, Read Latino. by Caridad Pineiro I like writing characters that don’t fit the mold of what you expect. Bill Santana, the hero in my July release THE FIFTH KINGDOM, is just that kind of character. A Cuban-American CIA Agent, Bill is working on a joint FBI-CIA Task force that is monitoring for terrorist activities. Bill loves his country. He has risked his life to keep it safe, but in all that time, he has never risked something just as important: his heart. When you first meet Bill, he is what you would expect of someone in such a vital and demanding position. Strong. Silent. Professional. A loner.  But as I wrote THE FIFTH KINGDOM, it came to me that there was so much more to Bill that even I wasn’t expecting a

BLOG TOUR: MI BARRIO BY ROBERT RENTERIA & BOOK GIVE AWAY

   The Latina Book Club is pleased to partner with Condor Book Tours on this tour. Note that the author will be stopping by today to answer any questions left in the comment section. Anyone leaving a comment will be entered to win a Free copy of the book.  (Winners must be in the continental U.S.) Good luck!  And, as always, Read Latino! LIVE CHAT! with Robert Renteria on Sunday June 26th , 7pm Eastern/6pm Central at: http://condorbooktours.com/Author_Chat_Salon.php MI BARRIO (graphic novel) by Robert Renteria as told to Corey Michael Blake illustrated by Shane Clester Writers of the Round Table Press/SmarterComics, 2011 "Don't let where you came from dictate who you are, but let it be part of who you become." These are the words of successful entrepreneur Robert Renteria, who grew up as an infant sleeping in a dresser drawer in one of the poorest ghettos of East L.A. and went on to become a business owner and civic leader. And most recently, he was ho

AUTHOR CAMEO….MATT DE LA PEÑA

    Matt will soon have what every author dreams of – a movie based on his book. His debut novel, BALL DON’T LIE, published by Delacorte in 2005, will soon be a major motion picture starring Ludacris, Nick Cannon, Emelie de Ravin, Grayson Boucher, and Rosanna Arquette (Night and Day Pictures). The book was also named an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers. This award winning author has written five novels, including MEXICAN WHITEBOY (2008), WE WERE HERE (2009), I WILL SAVE YOU (2010) and a picture book out earlier this year, JOE LOUIS: A NATION’S HOPE (illustrated by Kadir Nelson). Plus, he has published numerous short stories in various literary journals, including Pacific Review, The Vincent Brothers Review, Chiricú, George Mason Review, and Allegheny Literary Review. When not writing, Matt teaches creative writing at New York University. Visit him at http://www.mattdelapena.com/ . BALL DON’T LIE Soon to be a Motion Pictur

CELEBRATING MEN: DAVID PEREZ

The Latina Book Club continues its Celebration of Men this month with a Q&A with author David Perez. He is a talented author with a funny “memoirito.”  Enjoy, and always, Read Latino! WOW! By David Perez 11B Press, 2011 Q: Tell us about your book. How much is it about your childhood? What is pure fiction? A: My book, WOW!, is a memoir, or rather a “memoirito” set in the 1960s about my coming-of-age in a tough South Bronx neighborhood while navigating an even tougher Catholic school. WOW! was the my first English word I learned when I was two-years old. I feel it epitomizes my character in the book: a Puerto Rican boy full of wonder. I called my book a “memoirito” because of its novella length (only 128 pages) and because it’s written in an episodic style, much like the telenovelas my folks watched on TV, or those popular pocket paperback novelas in Spanish with illustrations. In fact, my book also has some illustrations, done by my brother George Pérez, an internation

TO MY FATHER, AND ALL THE MEN WHO'VE COME ALONG

The Latina Book Club welcomes Sujeiry, the First Lady of Love, to our Celebrating Men campaign. To My Father, And All The Men Who’ve Come Along By Sujeiry Gonzalez Men. I haven’t had the best track record with them. The first man in my life abandoned my family when I was only 12. He had instructed me to wait for him in my home on Trinity Street, where I lived in Lawrence, MA. Snow fell from the sky, covering the streets in white, like the blanket that cloaks newborns. An hour later, I sat by the living room window, peeking as cars plowed by slowly. His car never showed. He didn't call either. And with that, Papi vanished, not to be heard from again for another eight years. What followed were a string of failed relationships with men who were just like Papi. I know that now, but at the time I couldn't pinpoint their similarities. Inconsistency was the common thread. They also left me. Still, I celebrate men, particularly the men who have come into my life and convin

AUTHOR CAMEO.....MARTIN SOLARES

The Latina Book Club Celebrates Men all month long.   Join us! Martín Solares is a Mexican writer, critic and editor.   He holds a doctorate in Iberian and Latin American Studies from the University of Paris.   Solares’ first book, THE BLACK MINUTES, is a crime fiction thriller, and was shortlisted for the Rómulo Gallegos International Novel Prize .   In 1998, Martin’s short story, “El Planeta Cloralex,” received the Efrain Huerto National Literary Award.        THE BLACK  MINUTES just won the 2010 International Latino Book Award for Best Mystery Novel.      Felicidades! 

INTRODUCING.....THE LATIN BABY BOOK CLUB

  The Latina Book Club is compiling a Directory of all the Latina/o book clubs across the country. We want to highlight them on our website as well, as part of our ongoing mission to promote literary. If you belong to or know of any book clubs for Latinos – in English and Spanish –, please email us at latinabookclub@aol.com .   Meanwhile, we are proud to introduce you to The Latin Baby Book Club, the best place for children’s book suggestions, many of which are bilingual. THE LATIN BABY BOOK CLUB Founder : Monica Olivera Hazelton Website: http://www.latinbabybookclub.com/ Email: admin@LatinBabyUSA.com Q: When did you form The Latin Baby Book Club? What is your mission? I formed the Latin Baby Book Club (LBBC) in the fall of 2008, after realizing that there were no online resources (of Latino children's literature) specifically for bilingual families. My goal has been to create a platform that parents, grandparents, teachers, and even librarians can visit to find bilingua

CELEBRATING MEN: POPPA WAS A ROLLING STONE by Torrey Maldonado

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Men this month, and we are honored to welcome author Torrey Maldonado as a Guest Blogger.  Torrey will be talking about Fathers and how their absence affects everyone.  Happy Reading, and as always, Read Latino. "Your father’s dead. He's gone." That's what my mother told me over the phone. I didn’t know how to feel. My father was absent for so much of our lives. Wasn't he already “gone” to us? Yet, here I was experiencing his real death. The kid in me suddenly wanted him back to give us what he never had: his full and fully positive presence. True to the song, my “poppa was a rolling stone.” He regularly disappeared for years and, during his absence, I didn’t know him. When he returned, my mom let him stay with us and I didn’t know him. He often disappeared into the streets, came home, and disappeared into his bedroom. From my first day of daycare to my first gray hair, he spent more time outside with guy-friends and

AUTHOR CAMEO....JUAN GOMEZ-JURADO

The Latina Book Club continues its month long Celebration of Men. Juan Gómez-Jurado claims to be an American who was born in Spain. His idol is Steven Spielberg, and his favorite authors include Stephen King, John Grisham and Dan Follet, so is it any wonder that his books are thrillers. Critics consider Gomez-Jurado an “impossibly young master of [the] thriller.” His first novel, GOD’S SPY, to date has sold in 42 countries and more than 1.5 million copies. His second novel, THE MOSES EXPEDITION – also an international bestseller – won second place in both the Best Popular Fiction and Best Novel Adventure categories of the 2010 International Latino Book Awards. His third novel, THE TRAITOR’S EMBLEM, set in Germany during WWI, will be released in July by Atria Books. Before turning to fiction, Juan was an award-winning journalist with several Spanish media. He lives in his native Spain with his wife and two kids. Visit him at http://www.juangomezjurado.com/ . We met Juan a

BOOK LAUNCH: THE BOLERO OF ANDI ROWE: STORIES by Toni Margarita Plummer

     The Latina Book Club congratulates Toni on her book debut. It’s a sexy collection and winner of the Miguel Mármol Prize, given to a “first work of fiction in English by a Latina/o writer that reflects a respect for intercultural understanding and fosters an appreciation for human rights and civil liberties."  THE BOLERO OF ANDI ROWE: STORIES By Toni Margarita Plummer Northwestern University Press, 2011 He was at long last kissing Andi Rowe… And he would think, afterward, that’s what happiness must have been. Like walking into quicksand and being sucked down whole, smooth and steady, knowing you were going somewhere, that struggle was useless, and that you would never be the same again. --“The Bolero of Andi Rowe” This is a sexy collection of linked stories with the title character at its heart. Andi Rowe is a young woman -- much like the author --, who is half Mexican, half Irish, and straddles two cultural identities. Set mainly in South El Monte, California,

CELEBRATING MEN: LOVE WITHOUT BORDERS

   By Delaney Diamond How lucky am I that I get to participate in a month-long celebration of men! A big “Thank You” to the Latina Book Club for having me as a guest. Every day I work on stories about romance, where characters overcome obstacles to live happily ever after with the person they love. My characters are multicultural, reflective of our society. Today, more people embrace their multi-ethnic heritages and cross racial boundaries to find happiness. So far all the heroes in my interracial novels have been Latino, and they’ve been warmly embraced by readers. Latin culture is particularly appealing to me because I grew up in the Caribbean with Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans. Meringue, salsa, and reggaeton bear a striking resemblance to soca, reggae-calypso, and reggae. There are similarities in food as well, and the main differences are often limited to the inclusion or exclusion of certain herbs and spices. Plátanos fritos equal fried plantains, empanadas are

CELEBRATING MEN! BOOK OF THE MONTH: SECRET SATURDAYS by Torrey Maldonado

The Latina Book Club is Celebrating Men this month, and what better way to start than with a wonderful book by a talented and amazing author, teacher and father.  Happy Reading, and as always, Read Latino. SECRET SATURDAYS By Torrey Maldonado Putnam Juvenile “SECRET SATURDAYS ought to be required reading at middle schools everywhere.” –E.R. Frank, author of LIFE IS FUNNY and AMERICA, which inspired the Lifetime Movie. Torrey Maldonado has written a powerful, emotional, riveting novel about friendship, trust, hard choices and becoming a man. It’s the story of two 13-year olds best friends– Justin and Sean – living and surviving the dangerous Red Hook Housing projects. The friends are so much alike – half Puerto Rican, half Black, and no fathers – that they refer to themselves as twins. But lately Sean has been different, secretive, and he and his mom disappear on Saturdays. So what is a best friend to do but find out why? Read excerpt, by clicking here . AUTHOR CA