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.

JUST FOR FUN: Five Things (Elements of a Short Story)

Pencils: I Dreamt of You Last Night

                                             Source: yellowtrace.com.au via Lillian on Pinterest

Pencils

by Ezzy G. Languzzi

An army of pencils
Surrounded my bed
Was it all just a dream?
Was it all in my head?
Unfurled like a carpet
A rainbow of colors
This army of pencils
Made way for the others

They invaded my thoughts
Permeated my being
Sharpened and crying,
We hear you breathing!

Oh, no you don't, I said.
You're no gift, but a curse
You come when you want
Go, now
Disperse!

In a stupor I battled
Weary and tired
Until I'd pushed every-single-last-one
Into a fire

"What Do I Know?": Inspiration and the Source of Writer's Block

A few weeks ago I posted at Multicultural Familia a review for THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET by Sandra Cisneros. It's a collection of vignettes that spoke to me in ways I didn't expect and that has stayed with me since. I'm left with thoughts about the choices I've made and those that were made for me. No dwelling, here. Just awareness, understanding, optimism and hope.

Cisneros has a soothing effect on me when I hear her. She takes me away to think. These are the authors whose books I love. The ones who make me go inside to tease apart the noodles of my mind.

I wanted to share a short clip. In it, she talks about inspiration, graduate school and resonance. She also offers an explanation for writer's block that I know is 100% true for me.

Is it true for you?