I got the chance to read his book "Jesusita". It was different and nice. I would suggest that you read my reviews for "Jesusita". You got a chance to win a - Win 1 of 10 of any of the author's signed books (choose from his 5 titles) 1 $30 Amazon gift card (international). Enter his giveaway Jesusita Giveaway
Let read her Bio and then go to her interview. #Interviews, #Interviewsaroundtheglobe, #NRC, #Giveaways, #bookreview, #adultfiction #WWII #americanhistory #immigrants and @iReadBookTours
After reading Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment at the age of 17, I knew I wanted to be a writer. But I knew nothing about the craft. My first novel, Happy Birthday Jesรบs, was published 36 years later. Surprisingly, it received good reviews
For many years, I was a criminal defense attorney and at the end of my career a prosecutor, but I always managed to find time to write. What I saw and experienced during those years often serves as a basis for my writing. For me, learning how to write has been a long, continuous and, at times, torturous process.
Now retired, I try to write every day and I feel fortunate that I have found something in writing that sustains me. I’m glad I persevered during all those years of rejection. More than anything, writing about what I see and experience in life has given me a sense of worth.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook
For many years, I was a criminal defense attorney and at the end of my career a prosecutor, but I always managed to find time to write. What I saw and experienced during those years often serves as a basis for my writing. For me, learning how to write has been a long, continuous and, at times, torturous process.
Now retired, I try to write every day and I feel fortunate that I have found something in writing that sustains me. I’m glad I persevered during all those years of rejection. More than anything, writing about what I see and experience in life has given me a sense of worth.
Connect with the author: Website ~ Facebook
It´s about what hardship did to a woman who struggled to survive.
Where or how did you come up with the idea for your story?
Watching the struggles my mother and grandmother went through, as well as those of illegal Mexican immigrant farmworkers.
How important are names to you in your book(s)? Do you choose the names based on liking the way it sounds or the meaning? Do you use any resources in assisting you to choose the names?
Very important. Jesusita was my grandmother´s name and just the mention of that name brings back so many things depicted in this book. But usually the name has to sound right for the character. No, I don´t use resources to choose names.
Which of your characters (in this book) is your favorite and Why?
Jesusita. Because, for me, she symbolizes the lives and struggles of so many illegal Mexicant immigrant farmworkers.
Was there a certain scene in this book that was harder for you to write than others?
Two scenes were equally difficult for me to write. (a) Santiago´s molestation of Angie in the movie theatre
(b) the one beating of Paulina that puts Paulina in her room for days .
If you could cast your characters in the Hollywood adaptation of your book, who would play your characters?
(a) Jesusita: Marion Coutillard (b) Angie:Natalie Portman (c) Felix: Eddie Redmayne
What was your favorite part to write and why?
Felix, the mentally retarded orphan boy, who despite all his travails, once he is 18 decides, contrary to all expectations, to walk seven miles into town on a Sunday morning dressed in his pathetic church-going clothes to visit his younger orphan brother.
Just as your book(s) inspire authors, what authors have inspired you to write? (Alternate Q: If you didn't like writing books, what would you do for a living?
Fyodor Dostoevsky , William Faulkner, and Cormac McCarthy have all inspired me to write.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
When I was 17 I decided that I wanted to be writer. I was first published when I was 53, after a multitude of rejections. My advice: Don´t quit. Keep writing, but above all keep reading and learn from the great ones.
Do you read your reviews? Do you respond to them, good or bad? Do you have any advice on how to deal with the bad?
I read my reviews. I don´t respond to them, good or bad (occasionally I have said Thank you for a good one, but only Thank you). I don´t respond because I think what a reviewer has said is an honest point of view and how can you challenge that? The bad ones can be helpful once you get over the emotion of rejection. There can be validity to what they´ve said that you can learn from.
What are you working on now? What is your next project?
Two young cousins, 22 and 19, get involved in a big dope ring. The older cousin is deeply involved, the younger only peripherally. The older cousin gets arrested and a few million dollars fall into the younger cousin´s lap. And he runs and runs and runs. Hopefully the chase will be entertaining, instructive and meaningful.
Bonus Question: Characters often find themselves in situations they aren't sure they can get themselves out of. When was the last time you found yourself in a situation that was hard to get out of and what did you do?
Thank you for stopping by Nighttime Reading Center, Ronald. I hope to see you around here. I hope you stop by once in awhile. I started to laugh with some of the answers.
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