THE LATINA BOOK CLUB

The Latina Book Club thanks Boroughs Publishing for pointing out this quote from the legendary writer. Isabel Allende on the Craft of Writing “Show up. Show up in front of the computer or the typewriter. And if I show up long enough – it happens.” “When I started writing, I always had the feeling that the book was like a gift–that it would just fall in my lap like an apple or something. So I almost had the feeling that it wasn’t going to happen again. That I had written The House of the Spirits, and that was it. Or I had written the second or third book, and that was it. But what I have learned in time, in thirty-two years of writing, is that it’s a lot of work, and if I just show up, and I work and work, there is a moment, a magical moment, at some point, when it gives. And then you don’t need the effort anymore. It’s like dancing. When you’re dancing and counting the steps, you’re not dancing. When your body just goes—then you’re dancing, and then there’s a ...

The Latina Book Club celebrates LATINX HERITAGE MONTH every day. But to honor Latino / Latinx authors during this celebratory month, we will highlight a new book and author every day. Join us and #ReadLatinoLit. Flatiron Books DOMINICANA by Angie Cruz SUMMARY:   Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brothe...

    Buyer Beware! Cyber pirating is a serious crime against the artist, the reader and society at large. Luckily, we have some really great tips on how to safeguard against cyber pirating from paralegal and author Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald. And, she’s even written a fun, imaginative novel, TORRENT TRAGEDY , about a cyber pirate who gets just what he deserves. Luckily, The Latina Book Club is able to bring you an excerpt of this novel. EXCERPT TORRENT TRAGEDY By Raquel Zepeda Fitzgerald Next morning around 10 a.m. Steve walks into his office to tell him about the surge they just had in downloads of that new book. Right before Steve came in, he heard a sound like something had been dropped into the urn sitting on his credenza. When Steve looked at him he gasped and said what happen to your teeth? What do you mean? Your tooth, you’re missing a tooth,” he said. “That’s crazy.” But then he could feel that he was missing one fron...

The Latina Book Club congratulates Jonathan Marcantoni on the launch of La Casita Grande,  a new publishing house specializing in Latino and Caribbean literature. WRITING TIP :  If you want to stand out as an artist, be true to your visions and push yourself creatively, without worrying about the marketability of your stories. --- Jonathan Marcantoni Jonathan Marcantoni , Publisher LA CASITA GRANDE An imprint of Black Rose Writing Q: For years, we've been hearing the lament of editors and agents that they can't find any Latino authors.  And when one attends Book Expo America (BEA), all the editors keep asking for more diverse books, more Latino works.  Yet, the majority of the publishing booths at BEA this year had little to no diversity. It seems we have the editors' ears, but not the sales and marketing staff.  Did you see this too?  Where do you think Latinos are in publishing? JONATHAN MARCANTONI :  T...

      The artist must possess the courageous soul…The brave soul. The soul that dares and defies. – from THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin LATINA AUTHORS & THEIR MUSES is a celebration of creativity, the writer’s life, the passionate quest for spiritual and artistic freedom. – Mayra Calvani   Twilight Times Books  I admit it.  I like to write in my books.  I add notes on the margins.  I underline, and if the quote is too long I fold the page for future reference.  Some of my family and friends cringe when I do, but I love it.  It’s a very definite way of knowing which books are “keepers” and LATINA AUTHORS & THEIR MUSES is a Keeper! This book is a treasure trove of information.  It’s like a literary marketplace and who’s who rolled into one.  Mayra Calvani is to be commended for her hard work and vision in bringing 40 of everyone’s favorite Latina authors together for this marvelous collection;...

   The Latina Book Club congratulates Eddie H. Cisneros on realizing his dream of becoming a published author.   We are happy for the chance to chat with him about his writing and his debut novel, HIS-PANIC, our selection for June's Book of the Month. Q:     You are a writer who works as a doorman. Tell us about yourself, your family and when you knew your passion was writing?   EDDIE:   I am employed as a doorman. This month, will mark 21 years at the same position in the same building. I currently reside in Queens with my wife, two kids and my super, super pal, our dog. I've been writing for quite some time. I've had a passion for writing going back to when I was really young. It was just something I enjoyed doing, the entire thought process and the creativity bundled with a vivid imagination I guess. Growing up, I really enjoyed watching movies and would even try and write scripts for movies that my friends and I had in our ...