THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

    The Latina Book Club welcomes authors Luigi A. Juarez and Jonathan Marcantoni.   We want to congratulate Luigi on the debut of his first book, COVERED PACES, from Editorial Trance, last month; and, many thanks to Jonathan for sharing this interview. Luigi A. Juarez Jonathan Marcantoni: How would you describe your style? What is the story behind this book?       Luigi A. Juarez: My writing style leans literary (that is, away from the style of most genre fiction). I teach and study canonical works of literature as a career so I think that makes me subconsciously prefer the freshness of language (phrases and descriptions) over making sure I hit all the watchwords that plot the perfect action scene.  It’s funny, I was at a point where I was writing three short stories at once. The first was a Hollywood satire, the second was a fantastical tale, and the third, a domestic dispute, visceral and ultra-realistic. There was a w...

The Latina Book Club's mission is to promote Latina / Latino authors, which we do through book reviews, author interviews, publicity announcements, book of the month selections, etc.  A new feature we are adding is "Writers Wednesdays."  The first Wednesday of each month we will feature a Latina / Latino writer talking about .....writing.   Enjoy! HOW I WROTE MY SECOND NOVEL, THE HONEYEATER by Yolanda A. Reid Writing, for me, is like breathing air. I always wrote little stories and poems as a child. We had lots of books in our home. My mom was a college professor, so during the summers she'd bring home boxes of books (literally) for us to read and have our fill. So in junior high and high school I read numerous books—especially in the summertime—as I wrote in my diaries. This, not surprisingly, turned out to be extremely beneficial for me as a writer. For that way, I practiced and fine-tuned my writing. Then, when I was about 19 years old, I wrot...

Yolanda is the author of PORRIDGE & CUCU: MY CHILDHOOD and THE HONEYEATER.  She will be featured on April 3rd on Writers Wednesdays.  Yolanda was also generous to offer a FREE E-Book to all Latina Book Club readers on March 11 and March 16 only.  See link at end. Please join me in welcoming Yolanda to The Latina Book Club. Q.  Tell us about your new book, PORRIDGE & CUCU: MY CHILDHOOD. What is it about? PORRIDGE & CUCU is the story of a young girl growing up with her family—first in Panama, then in New York. The novel chronicles the life of Yamila as a child—during carnival, in a Catholic girls' school, playing with friends, navigating a bicultural and bilingual existence, eating "porridge and cucu" (foods she ate as a child). Also, a few ghost stories as told by her grandfather. Q.  Is this story autobiographical? Tell us about your background. Where is your family from? where did you grow up? siblings? children? PORRIDG...