Hope everyone out in (US) blogland had a lovely holiday weekend. I had a busy one and am only now getting caught up. Sorry to leave everyone with that downer of a post about Mt. Everest for a four days....
I'm having a case of what Heather Webber over at the Little Blog of Murder calls "blog-block," where I can't think of anything to blog about. (And ot think, just last week, my ideas runneth over.) So I'll just leave you with an update as to how my Books By Friends Month is going.
I finished Becoming Latina in Ten Easy Steps by Lara Rios (whom I know as Liliana), and I loved this book. (This will probably be a common theme this month, seeing as these are my friends, and are therefore smart women who write well.) In a nutshell, the book stars a heroine who has recently learned that her Mexican father may not really be her biological father, since her Mexican mother had an affair with an Anglo nine months before she was born. Ergo, her family notes, she's probably only half Mexican, which, they feel, explains her lack of interest in their Mexican culture and lack of Latina-ness in general. So Marisa vows to embrace her Latina side and prove that not only is she a full Latina, but that the father she's always known and loved is her true father. The list is, of course, the main source of humor and the catalyst for some intriguing situations, from Marisa's adventures mentoring an "at-risk" Latina teenager to her date with a gangbanger to her growing realization of what she wants in life and in love.
It's a fun, original premise, but what really makes this book sing are the vibrant characters, emotional weight, and gentle humor. I think anyone--Latina or not--can relate to Marisa's journey of self-discovery.
About Me
- Tracy Montoya
- Tracy Montoya writes romantic suspense for Harlequin Intrigue.
5 comments:
Sounds great, Tracy. Blog block stinks. I'm lucky. I have tons of friends who are coming out with books and contests etc. so I just put those on.
I just finished Christine Freehan's "Mind Game". I liked it a lot. I also spend time as a book reviewer on Romance Divas which gives me something else to blog about.
I love your blog. It's inspiring.
I've had that experience, many times. When I have empty time for blogging, I'm frustrated because have no ideas. When I have no time to think about blogging, I'm overflowing. So I used to keep a category of unfinished posts called "blogclog" so that when I was blocked, I'd have something to dig through for writing. After a while, however, the blogclog can became rather cumbersome to manage so I'm a bit more careful these days about what I drop in draft for later blogging.
I just finished Sharon Shinn's The Thirteenth House. What a wonderful book -- richly detailed, emotional story with bittersweet heartbreak! I was infinitely pleased that my mom got me a copy for my birthday so I could read it again. I wish I could say the same for Nora Roberts' Blue Smoke, which while offering some very nice secondary characters, ultimately seemed flimsy transparent in its story.
I haven't read a Christine Feehan in ages, Jen. I'm not a big vampire fiction reader, other than Caridad Pineiro's IMs and the first four Anne Rice books. I didn't realize you did reviews! Cool! Feel free to trash me anytime--I don't hold grudges. : D And thanks for the nice words about my blog--and for visiting!
Mariann, the blogclog idea is great--except I already ran through mine. I need to start building it up again. Speaking of, where is your blog these days? Or is it top secret because of the weirdos visiting your old site?
I will have to try Sharon Shinn once I make a dent in this huge TBR pile of mine. I remember you didn't like Poison Study, which I loved, so it'd be cool to see what kind of SFF works for you, seeing as you probably read more of it than I do. Thanks for the rec!
I am still blogging, but on LiveJournal where I can protect all of my posts. I'll probably be underground for another six months, just to give time for the trolls to forget about me and my family. I'll send you the link via email. :)
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