It’s been several months since the release of book four in the Border Town series (No Second Chances). I have my first middle school presentation back in March in Salinas, California. The girls loved El Charro Negro and were asking for the continuation of Alexis’s love story. Next week, I’ll be visiting another school in [...]
In April I was invited to speak at the Latino Perspectives Symposium: Characteristics of Today’s Latino Students and Strategies for Success. I was honored to have been invited and to be among such amazing Latino academics like Patricia Gándara, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of California, Los Angeles. Frances Contreras, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Education, [...]
In March I got the opportunity to visit the community of Buford, Georgia. Although my trip real short– 1 day–I was really surprised by the number of Latinos living in Georgia and deeply moved by the commitment and support for Latino students and their families from the Buford school district, teachers, and the community. But there [...]
Books 1-3 are done in the Border Town series. The first book, Crossing the Line, is due to be released (in English) May 2012. The Spanish edition will follow in June. Woo hoo! I always wanted to have a Spanish edition. I can’t really believe all this is really happening. As a young kid I [...]
Last weekend, four fabulous models (Iris, Bianca, Crystal and Xalli ) agreed to participate in a photoshoot for my new website. I have to admit it didn’t take much to convince them. :) The models took over five hundred pictures in four different locations on a windy San [...]
Just when I thought my writing career was over, I got a call in the middle of the night. I had just been laid off from a great job working with low income families and teaching them how to grow their own food in their backyards. I was sad, broke, and unsure of my next [...]
I am writing to you all from the rainy city of Punto Gorda, Toledo district of Belize. The most southern part of the county. I am sitting at an internet cafe, next to a guy who’s looking at “lonelyhousewives.com” and waiting for my boat to Punto Barrios, Guatemala. Since leaving Cayo, I went to an [...]
Familia, amigos, and other random folk: Aqui estoy, week two in beautiful San Ignacio, Cayo, Belize where the jungle is alive with jaguars and toucans and the streets are filled with gold toothed Mayans carrying sharp machetes. Ay!ive with jaguars and toucans and the streets are filled with gold toothed Mayans carrying sharp machetes. Ay! [...]
I’ve been working with the San Francisco based film maker Richard Levien on the adaptation of one of my story ideas into a full feature film. It’s quite exciting. I’m currently at a cafe on Valencia in San Francisco’s Mission District (my hometown) waiting for the guy. I turned in the first draft of the [...]
The backstory: The mera mera librarian coordinators of PSJA, Mission, and McAllen school districts got together to sponsor 3 weeks of quince presentations. yeah 3 weeks of 3-4 presentations per day. I love the rio grande valley. Let me count some of the ways: students at PSJA, MIssion, and McAllen rock! san juan middle and [...]