Meet The Character Blog Tour

 INK author Sabrina Vourvoulias has invited me and two other fellow writers to participate in a blog tour called Meet The Character. The task is for each of us to share tidbits about a protagonist in one of our WIPs or already published book(s) or short story(ies).

I'll be introducing you to a teenage girl from a YA-ish novel I've been writing.

1. What is the name of your character? Perla 


2. Is she/he fictional or a historic person? Fictional


3. When and where is the story set? The story is set in Southern California during a school vacation. 


4. What should we know about him/her? She's a fourteen-year-old Latina in the eighth grade.


5. What is the main conflict? What messes up her/his life? Perla comes of age in an immigrant neighborhood plagued by gangs, drugs and violence. She's torn between what her parents "expect" of her and a future she wishes to work toward. Her life starts to fall apart after a series of tragedies threaten her safety.


6. What is the personal goal of the character? Perla's personal goal is to someday attend college.


7. Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? I've been working with WHERE HAZARD MEETS NEWHOPE as a title. There's a short snippet of a scene on Sabrina's blog FOLLOW THE LEDE.


8. When can we expect the book to be published or when was it published? That's a great question. It's also one I can't answer.

Sabrina, thank you for your guidance and for always supporting me in my writing.

Hop on over to Sabrina Vourvoulias to read about her character Anthony Cardno. Also, be sure to visit the two other women who were tagged with me, Gina Ruiz and Jessica Olivarez-Mazone, aka Tejana Made.

Gracías.

Rejection Never Felt So Good

Jonathan Livingston Seagull imparted some wisdom.

Finally. It happened. I submitted something to get published. It only took me how many years? The sky didn't fall. A swarm of locusts didn't obliterate my small town. I lived!

No, I LIVE.

Funny thing about the rejection is that I couldn't be happier, reason being that it means I finally stepped into a huge fear, and rather than feeling deflated, I'm energized.

Hehe, we'll see how long that lasts.

Thanks to the education I received at #Readercon14, at least I now know the "type" of short stories I'm drawn to and have been writing. They're speculative! Who knew? Certainly not me. True to my preference for pieces that are gritty and right wrongs, the 6,000 word short story I submitted is threaded with a bit of lore and addresses systemic injustice women endure in a small Mexican border town.

I've got these stories dancing in my head that want to come out. Relieved to have come unblocked and happy to be moving forward.

Just happy.

I Don't Know Where To Start

I Made It -- Graduated And Licensed!

I don't know where to start writing about all that's happened since my last post in April. For starters, I'm done with graduate school -- for the moment, at least, and am officially licensed (hallelujah). Events leading up to my graduation on June 1st were intense. Between classes, finishing my internship at the middle school, working, job-seeking and holding things together for the end of our son's first year in public school, the last weeks of the academic year for both my son and I were harder than the last three years combined.

Was It Worth The Sacrifice?

A part of me says, "Absolutely." That's the goal-seeking, self-actualization side of Ezzy that wants to continue to learn and grow. However, the mother-wife in me often contemplates the time I took away from my family, especially my eleven-year-old son, to accomplish this goal. I felt guilty the week of graduation, too, because he'd been selected to participate in a little league competition taking place the same day. You see, this was his first year playing baseball, and considering he'd never played before, never mind pitched, he'd done pretty darn well. My husband had assistant coached and I attended every game. Seeing his developing grit, pride and ganas to play baseball made this mom happy. I didn't want to rob him of his opportunity to compete in something he felt passionate about.

Our Son Was Given A Choice

So we gave him the option. He could either accompany my mother and husband to an over three hour ceremony on a hot day, where he'd most likely be bored, or he could play baseball. I told him the decision was his to make and that as much as I wanted him to see me receive my diploma, I also didn't want him to miss out on something important to him. I was only sorry that I wouldn't get to see him compete. He could let me know.

Our son pitching.

The Verdict

A couple of days before my graduation, as he sat across from me in the living room playing Minecraft, while I caught up on one of my favorite shows, I casually asked him if he'd made a decision about what he wanted to do. His response was, "Mom, your graduation is way more important than baseball. It's not, like, you graduate every day. I can play baseball anytime." He said this wearing a look of disbelief -- disbelief that I'd ask him such a question.

The doubts, worries, and insecurities that had plagued me about my decision to pursue graduate school evaporated at that moment.

This mom had done something right

Mrs. Easter Bunny Stopped By

Easter Eve was always more special than Easter morning in my home. My sisters and I would stay up late eating capirotada, a Mexican dish my mom made every year that filled our home with the smell of melted sugar.

At bedtime, we'd giggle in the dark, as we speculated over the size of the Easter baskets Mrs. Easter Bunny would bring. More than Peeps and jelly beans, we hoped for giant chocolate Easter bunnies whose ears we'd devour before breakfast the next morning. I say might because sometimes there was no chocolate.

I remember waiting for the sound of crinkling plastic, until one year, without warning, Mrs. Easter Bunny never came. Is there an expiration date on the Easter Bunny?

My eleven-year-old son cornered me in the grocery store last year and asked if Santa and the Easter Bunny were real. So many thoughts raced through my mind as I thought of how to answer. "Well ... " It was over. My baby was no longer a baby. I remember how he scrutinized me with his big brown eyes that communicated without words that he knew the truth.

A dear friend and neighbor dropped by yesterday afternoon to return a dish. During our conversation I realized that with the craziness of preparing to have family over for Easter, I'd inadvertently forgotten to make our son's Easter Basket (something that's proven challenging each year due to his food allergies). When I mentioned that our son didn't believe in the Easter Bunny, anymore, my neighbor laughed and replied that her twenty-something daughter still expected her chocolate bunny. That's when I remembered how much I've missed mine.

Mrs. Easter Bunny did drop by before six a.m., leaving tracks all the way up to our son's room. He'll wake to find a small basket bursting with yellow grass, a book, Swedish Fish, Skittles, and Minecraft toys. He'll even find a small, stuffed, yellow chick to remind him he'll always be my baby.

Why is the Easter Bunny a Mrs. instead of a Mr? I'll tell you why -- because The Country Bunny And The Little Gold Shoes says so.

When There's No Other Way But By Plane

Whoever forgets their first trip on a plane? I remember mine. It was 1987, and while all my high school friends took our class' senior trip to Mazatlan, I flew across the country to the Big Apple. That was a long time ago. Still, I remember so many details of that flight. Like thinking that the twenty-something law student who sat next to me was "old." Or how annoyed I was to have to crane my neck to watch Some Kind of Wonderful on the cabin's movie screen.

A Fear of Flying

Over the years my discomfort fear of flying has waxed and waned. There was a point after I moved to Boston where for a period of three years I traveled all over the U.S. and other parts of the world. Flying became so routine and mundane, like washing dishes or folding laundry, that I eventually looked forward to those few hours of uninterrupted quiet in the sky. I could read, sleep, watch a movie or just stare out at the clouds.

Know The World

A lot has happened since that has changed how I view humanity. For starters, I'm more outwardly focused; I try to stay abreast of current events (social media helps a lot). And while I'm more informed, it's a constant battle to not become hyper vigilant. Living as though danger lurks around every corner is, well, no way to live. Yet, that's exactly how many in this country and abroad have to live, in order to survive.

Children Watching The News

As parents, our challenge lies in gauging how much of the morning news to allow our children to watch. What I can tell you is that we monitor our son's TV time. He watches. He asks questions. My husband and I answer as best we can. It's tough sometimes, knowing how much is enough. We want him to examine issues from all angles. We want him to be age-appropriately informed to walk in reality, but not be traumatized. We want him to know that there's more good than evil in this world. 

The problem lies in knowing that with knowledge comes its companion -- loss of innocence. 

SPANISH FRIDAY: ¿Un Perrito, Dos Perritos, Cuál Es La Diferencia?

Amigos Inseparables -- mijo estaba enfermo cuándo tomé esta foto.

¡Tengo muy buenas noticias que compartirles! 

Hemos decidido conseguirle un compañero a nuestro mascota, Albert. 

I have great news to share with you! We've decided to get our dog, Albert, a companion.

Albert buscando su compañero en linea.

Lo que pasa es que nos da mucha lastima dejarlo al pobre solo tantas horas durante el día.

❤

The thing is that it bums us out to leave the poor guy alone for so many hours during the day.

Soy gato.

Cuándo no estamos en casa, se la pasa durmiendo arriba del sofá, como un gato.

¿Se ve triste, no?

❤

When we're not home, he spends his day sleeping on top of the couch, like a cat.

Doesn't he look sad?

¡Que flojera!

Este perro excéntrico nos ha traído tanta felicidad. Sí, al principio nos volvia locos (y todavia), pero como cualquier otro miembro de la familia, lo aceptamos con todos sus defectos y malas costumbres. Nuestro perro nuevo llega entre junio o julio. Lo llamaremos -- Einstein.

A ver cuales aventuras nos esperan.

❤

This eccentric dog has brought us so much happiness. Yes, at first he drove us crazy (and still does), but like any other member of the family, we accept him with all his defects and bad habits. Our new dog arrives sometime between June and July. His name will be "Einstein."

We'll see what adventures await us.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Paletas Y Patínes

PALETAS Y PATÍNES

by Ezzy Languzzi 

Paletas

Patínes

Veranos at home

Paletas

Patínes

We were never alone

Paletas

Patínes

Hermanitas

We played

Each other’s company

Through the heat of the day

Tamarindo

Horchata

Jamaica

Limón

Paletas de jugo

Chilled us to the bone

Side by side on the curb

Our futures unknown

Paletas

Patínes

We longed to be grown

The butcher

The workers

The gang members, too

Watched as we skated
Through
The afternoon

¡No Más!

I think that pretty much sums it up. Even the dog is sad.

It Snowed Again

 

"Expect a dusting," the weatherman, said.

Instead, snow dropped from the sky in heavy chunks.

"I'm going to make a snowman," my son said.

So, he did.

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THROWBACK THURSDAY: Electra Woman And Dyna Girl

Left to our own devices as youngsters, my two sisters and I managed to get ourselves into a lot of trouble. We may not have gotten along very well, but when it came to being traviesas, boy, you'd have thought we were the best of friends. Summers were especially difficult for us, having to spend all that time together, but we always found ways to make the time pass quickly. How? We'd dedicate ourselves to scheming over what prank to concoct next.

Our targets were the unsuspecting passersby. You see, we lived on a busy residential street that saw a lot of foot traffic. Some were neighbors, or an occasional tamalera or paletero, but mostly day laborers who lived in boarding housing along our street. We were equal opportunity pranksters, young, imaginative and in need of entertainment from behind our sheer curtains.

I've shared the intro to a show that my sisters and I drew inspiration from when we role-played. When I think back to those sweltering summers in the seventies, I can't help but smile remembering our antics and those of Electra Woman and Dyna Girl.

I shared the clip with my Minecraft-playing eleven-year-old son. Wish I'd snapped a picture of the expression he wore when he asked, "You watched that?"

How times have changed.

Public Speaking: Picture Them Naked They Say

Public speaking. What's the first thought that comes to mind when you read those two words? Does it inspire confidence? Or does it make you want to crawl into a hole and die? I'm not trying to be dramatic, here, but the latter is what most of the population experiences when faced with having to intelligently string words together in front of a crowd. And if you consider what public speaking really is, communication, it seems absurd that a skill we've developed since our first year of life, should trigger our body's fight or flight response.

What is the fight or flight response? It's our body's physical reaction to a perceived threat. The threat could be physical, like a lion, or it could be mental, like stepping outside the house. The fight or flight response has been critical to our survival as a species. Imagine. Without it, humans might've never survived past the neanderthal stage!

But why should we have such a severe emotional and physical response to a non-life-threatening activity, such as public speaking? The response stems from maladaptive thoughts that prevent us from being our best, whether it be at home, at school, or in our careers.

The first step to self-improvement is to become aware of our self-defeating thoughts and stop them before they stop us.

What I've learned the last few years from peers and friends is that no matter how at ease they appear in front of a crowd, public speaking does not come naturally to many of them. They still get nervous before an event, but instead of running to hide, they channel their nervous energy into their presentation, taking the focus off themselves and putting it instead into their message.

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel at #Latism13. It was the biggest mountain I'd ever had to climb. Having a week's notice and knowing I'd be amongst a group of people that I admire put a little extra pressure on me. What helped me succeed, I believe, is that I only cared about two things, the panelists and what they had to share, and that the audience learn something. My focus was not on me but on them. I'm sure it also helped that I locked myself in every bathroom I could find at the Waldorf Astoria to practice. Taking a tour of the conference room as soon as I get in there (pictured above), I'm sure helped, too! I also had a great coach who held my hand every step of the way.

Much of what I did to prepare you can find on this list taken directly from the Toastmasters International website. Click the link to read them in detail.

1. Know your material.
2. Practice. Practice. Practice.
3. Know the audience.
4. Know the room.
5. Relax.
6. Visualize yourself giving your speech.
7. Realize that people want you to succeed.
8. Don't apologize.
9. Concentrate on the message, not the medium.
10. Gain experience.

Are any of you members of Toastmasters? Have you considered joining? I'm thinking of joining my local chapter this month, because I know that every little bit of exposure helps. I'm ready. I've had enough of letting fear get in the way of my goals.

What has your experience been with public speaking?

Do you have any public speaking tips you'd like to share? 

The Year In Pictures

I didn't want to let the year end without sharing some of the moments that stand out in my memory.

2013 is the first year since I moved to Massachusetts that I've seen this much snowfall. Note the snow at the entrance to the garage. And I live here because …

One thing's for sure, this is not where I plan to spend my Golden Years.

Human Development Across the Lifespan was an intensive summer course that I took in which we were required to present our stages of development with a thirty minute presentation at the end of the course. The class was intense not only in the volume of material we covered in seven weeks, but, also, because of the intense emotions and life experiences shared by our cohort.

I think it was the first time I didn't dread knowing a presentation awaited me. My biggest worry was that I wouldn't be able to talk for thirty minutes about myself. Much to my surprise I was so into my presentation that I lost track of time talking about my family and ancestors. The class laughed when I flashed a slide that said to "Google at your own risk."

It was while I wrote my presentation that I discovered that an actual word exists for healing with books: bibliotherapy.

Yes, books heal. 

Hispanicize reinvigorated me. It was loud, colorful and charged with energy. This has become an annual event where I look forward to spending time with mis blogueras amigas-hermanas. 

Our son is not a little boy, anymore.

Maine in the summer is where I wish to be.

These are smiles that make me happy.

Pearl (top right) arrived via USPS recently. She replaced my rooster Richard (bottom) who had to go live on a local farm where he could do what he does best -- crow. Thank God for great neighbors.

I love Latism and everything it stands for. It's challenged me to step into discomfort. I am a better person because of it. Life is colorless without a sense of community.

I accomplished a lot this year and continue to learn about myself. My two biggest goals for 2014 are to graduate in May and secure a job in my field of study.

Happy New Year, my friends. :-)

Adjusting My Sails

Most of October and the entire month of November don't feel real. A lot has happened. So much in such a short period of time that trying to remember it all makes my heart race.

Latism came and went
Halloween
A couple of online book clubs
My son's eleventh birthday
Single-handedly building Richard and Samantha's new coop
Sending Richard to live on a farm
and Thanksgiving.

With Christmas and New Year's so near, I reflect on 2013, grateful for the many blessings I've received.

Change swirls about me. My internship at the middle school has revealed where I've known all along that I can make the biggest contribution. I can't help but be a little anxious as 2014 approaches. I feel the direction of Sincerely Ezzy changing.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

You know who you are.

We Start At A New School This Week

We start at a new school this week. As some of you know, our son attended a small, private school close to home, and when I say "small," I mean K-8-under-one-hundred-students-small, where everyone knows your name. We're moving for a number of reasons, but the only one that matters to us is that our son requested it. He's ready to experience life outside his small brick building. Both Mom and Dad are a little nervous, because this will be a big change, not to mention culture shock for him. There will be no daily chapel, children aren't expected to hold doors open for their elders, he won't eat his lunch at his desk, nor will he be expected to attend eighth grade graduation each year. Having said all that, despite all that we'll miss that made his previous school special, we're proud of him for advocating for himself, stating that he's ready to make new friends, while firmly and confidently letting us know that he is not going to be siting at the peanut table, either.

Today we attend his new school's Fourth Grade Meet-and-Greet, where we'll drop in to the class, meet his new teacher, other parents and classmates. It's a huge fourth grade wing at a school that will be the equivalent of a small high school for a middle schooler used to a small brick building. I'm grateful beyond words for the role the school adjustment counselor, in addition to the other supports, that are being made available to make his transition as comfortable as is possible, for a ten-year-old, transferring to a new school. I can only imagine the anxiety a family must experience if they or their child are new to the country and don't speak the language. What supports are available to them? As a student of school guidance sitting on the other side of the table, I empathize with these concerns, and for that I'm also grateful.

This week we'll be chronicling a lot of firsts. We're not expecting everything to be perfect and we welcome the unpredictability and excitement that starting something new brings. I came across a wonderful article written by Dr. Michele Borba, a renown and multi-book published, parenting expert. The article is titled "Helping Kids Fit In to a New School and Make Friends." She makes some wonderful recommendations you might find helpful if you have a child starting at a new school.

Is there anything special you've done to ease your child's transition to a new school?