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21/3/2020 Call for Submissions: Unity, Volume 1: A Magical Realism Anthology by Penned in the City #barriobluesRead Now This is a mock-up of the book cover. We will do a cover reveal in a week. Unity Call for Submissions:
The administrators of Penned in the City are thrilled to announce a new charity anthology, titled: Unity. Recently, there has been an increase in racial hate crimes and divide amongst working-class people. We in Penned in the City believe people should come together to uplift each other towards a better world. Thus, we are calling artists, poets, and writers of both poetry and fiction to contribute to this critical work! The first anthology will have a magical realism focus. What is magical realism? Magical realism is the fusion of the magical like folklore, magical creatures, religions, into the reality of the characters. In essence, the magical is commonplace and normal. Consider works by Gabriel Garcia Márquez or Isabelle Allende. Consider current anime that fuses legends into contemporary society. You do not have to write or produce art about COVID-19. However, we prefer works that speak towards the transformation of our world to a better one, whether the writing and artwork are uplifting, dark, or somewhere in-between. Of course, Penned members will get priority. We will pay writers and artists in hard copy, and those contributors will vote to select the charity for the next anthology. For now, we are thinking of giving the profits to Doctors without Borders. Fiction: These can be original or reproduced works, so long as the author owns the copyright. We are accepting works in any genre. Submissions must be 500 to 3,000 words in length. Fiction must be Shunn formatted and sent as a Microsoft Word attachment. Poetry: These can be original or reproduced works, so long as the author owns the copyright. We are accepting works in any genre. Submissions must be 2 to 30 lines in length. Poems must be Shunn formatted and sent as a Microsoft Word attachment. Artists: We are accepting photography and original artwork, original or reprinted, so long as the author owns the copyright. One submission per artist. Submit a minimum 300 dpi image. Images must be sent as an attachment. ------------ You can submit one work per category, but with a maximum of two categories. The deadline for all writers and artists is May 1, 11:59 p.m. Central U.S. time. Email attachments to pennedinthecity@gmail.com. Submit any questions to the editorial board of Penned in the City at pennedinthecity@gmail.com.
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21/2/2020 My First-Ever Book Launch Video for A Not So Magical Day, and First-Ever Smashwords Reviews! The Kindle Book Is FREE for My YouTube Subscribers #barriobluesRead NowWhat readers are saying about this amazing short book!
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/PritiJreads https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/PCDarkcliff https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/danbrook23 Subscribe to my channel, Radical Books and Politics, and get your free copy today! You can also email me if you want a different file type, but platform supports *.epub and *.pdfs. Fans and Followers, Here's a short Valentine's Day poem for you. Happy Valentine's Day! "Rest" by María J. Estrada Hearts interconnected through eons of suffering --Hearts Though battered and beaten Yet, filled with non-corporate Love for Humanity Moving beyond class interests to A Better World Let's travel this path of Love to Justice and Peace. And at our transformation's end, Rest in each other.   Cover by the amazing Andjela Vujić. Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andjela.vujic.71 Okay, YouTube subscribers! First, thank you for subscribing to my channel Radical Books and Politics. The moment is here!
Your first free book will be called A Not So Magical Day! The book is half-way done. I also have a wonderful proofreader who is doing a great job of giving me tips! Thank you, Priti! So, stay tuned! The Kindle book should be out in a few days. For this hosting service, I am using Smashwords because I can set a free price. Or you can email me for a copy of the *.pdf file at drmariajestrada@gmail.com! (Don’t spam me.) I hope you enjoy this next installment in La Bruja series! If you download a copy, please consider giving it a short, favorable review on Smaswords.  Author David Bowmore DAVID, THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS INTERVIEW! I AM SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU. And I am happy to answer your questions. NOW, I KNOW YOU’RE FROM ENGLAND. TELL MY READERS MORE ABOUT YOURSELF. I was born nearly 48 years ago on a dark and stormy night in a gypsy caravan. As a child, we spent many years moving around. We even lived in Australia for a few years before moving back to the U.K. My education was fragmented, and I went into a trade that takes most people who don’t know what to do with themselves – catering. Ten years of kitchen-sweltering later, I became a teacher. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST STORY OR CREATIVE WORK ABOUT? Like most aspiring writers I decided to write a novel. So, I read Stephen King’s On Writing and tried to get into a routine. The novel was not good - well, some of the ideas were, but most of the writing was terrible. Then I nailed NanoWrimo with another rough draft of a novel, but I didn’t know where to go next. So, I joined a few Facebook groups. In February, I submitted a short story to one of Grant Hudson’s anthologies. He accepted, and it won best in book – that’s when I won the chance to publish a collection of short stories with Clarendon House and when I realised, I might be a writer. I LOVED YOUR DEBUT COLLECTION, THE MAGIC OF DEBEN MARKET. IT IS UNIQUE IN ITS STRUCTURE, LIKE A PASTICHE OF WONDERFUL STORIES. HOW WOULD YOU CATEGORIZE IT? I don’t know how to categorize Deben Market. I just wrote a bunch of stories all set in the same town – a bit like a soap opera, I suppose. I figured that people in a small town would know each other, but they might not know all there is to know about each other. I wanted the reader to know everything. For instance, a character who might play a small but annoying part in someone else’s story would get their own chapter, and then you (the reader) would find out why they behaved the way they did. The main character, Moony Moore has been a resident of Deben Market his whole life. He would know most people; most people would know him. His story could link through to everybody else’s. At least that was the plan. I LOVED THE CHARACTERS IN THE COLLECTION. THEY WERE ALL BEAUTIFULLY DEVELOPED. WHEN YOU WRITE A STORY, DO YOU BEGIN WITH STRONG CHARACTERS? Thank you, the characters are key to Deben Market. Characters are probably the most important aspect for me. I usually start by imagining a person, giving them a vague outline, and then, putting them in a strange situation and then see how the story evolves and where they take me. THERE WERE A LOT OF WONDERFUL ASPECTS TO THIS COLLECTION LIKE STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND GORGEOUS DESCRIPTIONS. IS THERE A WRITER OR WRITERS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WRITING STYLE? I’m not sure if I try to emulate or am influenced by other authors. But there are many that I admire. For my money, PG Wodehouse is possibly the best writer to have walked the face of the planet. There’s not one page where one doesn’t shake one’s head in wonderment at his linguistic skills. When I was younger, I mostly read Stephen King, and he still impresses me now. Agatha Christie is as readable today as she was when she started writing one hundred years ago. In fact, I’m quite the fan of mystery and crime writers – I’ve read most of them from Mickey Spillane to Dorothy L. Sayers, and my stories usually have a touch of mystery in them. WHAT OTHER KINDS OF WRITING DO YOU DO? Someone described Deben Market as literary, and I suppose that is because I wanted every story to touch the reader emotionally. I’m trying my hand at comedy and noir too. I’ve written two westerns, which were great fun, but really, my lack of knowledge of the genre will hinder me. I hope to tackle an apocalyptic story one day. Something reminiscent of Day of the Triffids (one of my favourite books) without killer plants, or zombies for that matter. WHAT GENRE HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING OR SATISFYING FOR YOU TO WRITE IN? Challenging – last year I had to write in the regency style for a competition. My mind doesn’t think that way, so I had to read lots of Jane Austin in the name of research. Satisfying – everything else. I love losing myself in a world of my own creation. PLEASE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING WRITING PROJECTS. I’ve a few projects simmering at the minute, but the big news is that The Magic of Deben Market is in a competition to have a promo/pilot made that will then be used to pitch to producers for a TV series or movie. More information can be found on my blog or at booksoffice.com. Simply register as a reader/viewer go to projects/project Alpha 1 to place your votes, which they call tickets. ONE LAST FANTASY QUESTION: DO YOU THINK WRITING CAN TRANSFORM THE WORLD? IF SO HOW? Reading is the key. More people need to know how to read. Then they can start to think things through properly. They can form opinions of their own and debate views in a rational manner, drawing on the knowledge of others. Obviously, we need writers if we’re going to have readers who can think for themselves. So, I suppose the answer is yes writing can help improve the world. WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU ONLINE OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA? My blog and newsletter: davidbowmore.co.uk Facebook: @davidbowmoreauthor Twitter: @dbowmore THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE. I LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF YOUR WORK AND HOPE YOU HAVE YOU AGAIN SOON.  Available on Amazon.  ANN AND RUTH, WHAT A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU! NOW, I KNOW YOU ARE BOTH WRITERS AND CO-OWNERS OF A PRESS. TELL MY READERS MORE ABOUT YOURSELVES. Ann: Ruth and I met at a Writers Coffeehouse meeting. We looked at each other and knew we had to become partners. It was like looking in a mirror. If the mirror showed two redheads who are a foot different in height. Now for the real story: We were both between editing jobs in 2011 and looking for an editing opportunity. I stood up at a meeting and mentioned that I was looking for editing jobs. Ruth stood up and said she was, too. Then we met afterward, and voila! A star was born. Actually, the entire constellation of Gemini! Ruth: Ann was across the table in B&N, staring into her latte. I instantly knew she was just the person to help me form an editing company. And I didn’t even realize that Ann was standing up. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST STORY OR CREATIVE WRITING WORK ABOUT? Ann: I’ve been writing since I can remember. I think my first story was about a woman who manages a swimming pool. I am a writer because I have to be; I have no choice. It’s a compulsion. Ruth: I have enjoyed writing ever since I wrote my first “real” piece in fifth grade. It’s a story about a doe in the woods. It’s almost poetic. I actually still have it. The handwriting is beautiful. I don’t want to boast or anything, but I was “Miss Penmanship” that year. I’VE NEVER ASKED THIS QUESTION. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE AN EDITOR? Ann: I’ve always loved language. I can remember correcting friends and family when I was a teenager. Here’s a funny story. When my older daughter graduated from junior high, the ceremony ended with a slide show. The last slide said “Congradulations!” My daughter was mortified when I, outraged, strode up to the gentleman running the projector and informed him “Congratulations” was misspelled. About a dozen years ago, I frequented LinkedIn. A man posted that he was forming a new ezine, Schrodinger’s Mouse. I asked if he needed an editor. It was an unpaid position, and I loved it. I really honed my skills and learned that I wanted to be an editor when I grew up. I’m still not grown up, but I am an editor. Ruth: When I went to a restaurant when I was about 21 years old (during the Jurassic Period) and without searching for anything, found four typos. I told the manager but didn’t even get any free pie. TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHING HOUSE, CELESTIAL ECHO PRESS. WHERE DOES THE NAME COME FROM? Ann: Ruth and I have been partners in Gemini Wordsmiths since June 1, 2011. We’re both born under the astrological sign of Gemini, and our business is also. Actually, so is Celestial Echo Press, but I digress. We work wherever we can. We were in a local Barnes and Noble café, brainstorming for names for our new publishing imprint. We wanted to keep with the astrological/star theme, so we decided the first word would be Celestial. We asked a bunch of millennials in the café what they thought of our potential names, and Echo won. We love the new imprint name; it fits the theme of Gemini and twins. Ruth: Our micro-press name is borne of hours and hours of research looking into what words slip off the tongue best. ON YOUR SITE, IT SAYS YOU EXPAND ON THE GEMINI CONCEPT AND THE GOAL IS TO STAY DYNAMIC. HOW DOES THE GEMINI CONCEPT PLAY INTO HOW YOU RUN THE PRESS? HOW ARE THE PROJECTS DYNAMIC? I LOVE THAT WORD, BY THE WAY. Ann: The word dynamic means a force that is ever-changing, not standing still. We expanded our editing business several years ago to include an ebook formatting department. Last year we expanded into publishing. Who knows what the future holds for us? We incorporated the twin theme into our press via the name and also our first anthology, based on the theme of twins. We’re kicking around ideas for the next one, and it’s a good possibility either Gemini, or twins, or the number two will feature prominently in our theme. Ruth: Our book is titled The Twofer Compendium. It features 36 stories about twins, all fiction. We stay dynamic by constantly considering new ideas and incorporating them into our list of services. We hope to rule the world by 2026. I THINK MOST WRITERS ARE CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT GOES THROUGH AN EDITOR’S HEAD. HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE WRITERS YOU WORK WITH? WHEN YOU RECEIVE A STORY, WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Ruth: We try to measure up the story with some solid and some vague guidelines. The most obvious is that the story fits the theme; if not, we cannot accept it. Our hope is that the story gets us to step out of our comfort zone, by approaching the theme in a way that we hadn’t considered. We also look for good writing—meaning a story that has a strong start, a middle, and a great ending, all within the word limit of a short story. Finally, we hope that a story shifts our outlook. Makes us laugh. Makes us well up. Makes us remember something different or strange about it … or the author. Ann: Ditto what she said. TELL US ABOUT THE TYPES OF WORK YOUR PRESS HAS PUBLISHED? Ann: The Twofer Compendium is our first publication. We plan in 2020 to publish novels and another anthology. Ruth: Dat’s it so far. But since we’re dynamic, we’ll be working it in 2020. CLEARLY, YOU BOTH HAVE AMAZING SKILLS. IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO BETTER, AS WRITERS AND/OR PRESS OWNERS? Ann: Find more time in the day. Ruth: Ditto, of course. PLEASE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING WRITING PROJECTS AND CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS. Ann: We have no open calls right now. Individually, we have writing projects upcoming, but not as a partnership. Ruth: Ditto ditto. Of course. ONE LAST FANTASY QUESTION: DO YOU THINK WRITING CAN TRANSFORM THE WORLD? IF SO HOW? Ann: Writing has already transformed the world. I love sci-fi and fantasy. So many inventions we currently use had their roots in a sci-fi author’s imagination. Ruth: That question is so broad that it’s almost impossible to answer. Writing can be the answer to many quandaries through escape, through enlightenment, through joy. Writing can enhance a good situation for a reader. Writing can teach—tolerance, history, science, (ew, not math), geography and a thousand other topics—in fun ways and through the imagination. But mostly, writing can bring people together. Not by insisting that others see the writer’s point of view necessarily; rather, by showing the reader that different people see the world, or the universe, from different viewpoints and all of them can be right. WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU ONLINE AND/OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Ann: We have a Gemini Wordsmiths Facebook page, and run the Celestial Echo Press Facebook group. I love this group. Our website is www.geminiwordsmiths.com. Celestial Echo Press information can be found at www.geminiwordsmiths.com/publishing. We send out a newsletter once every other month, which you can sign up for on our website. We also are on LinkedIn, but not very active there. I am the owner of a board and card game business, Gontza Games, and have a website for that, too. (www.gontzagames.com) Ruth: What she said. And then you can find me blathering at ruthlittner.com, and @ruthlittner on Twitter. One day I hope my VCR will stop blinking 12:00. (Is your millennial asking, “What’s a VCR, Mommy?”) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULES. I KNOW BEING A WRITER IS BUSY ENOUGH. I HOPE TO HAVE YOU BOTH AS INTERVIEWEES AGAIN SOON. Ann: Thank you so much for having us! Ruth: Thank you so much for having us!   The Kindle Book Is Available on Amazon for only $2.99.  Well, Book Lovers and Writers who persist despite the torture that comes with writing,
These last few weeks, I have been in another pathetic writing valley. Not quite a writer’s block, but a pit of despair. Partly because December was totally shot since my family and I, all, got sick, then I started my regular work. Forget it. Just making it to work with half a smile on my face was a victory. Now, things are settling, although it seems I am busier with teaching and union work (I teach full-time at an urban community college and run my union). And, my writing energy is coming back. Mostly, I was dealing with negative crap, what I like to call “A Writing Long Night of the Soul.” That night lasted over six weeks. Well, in my creative writing classes, I tell my students to flip the script. I know that sounds like contemporary self-help babble, but it works for me. Plus, there’s nothing wrong with a little self-help. The point is that I finally stopped bitching and decided to see this revision process as an opportunity to write something awesome. Thus, I am postponing the second edition of Wolf Trek, obvi, as I have published nothing. The book is also supposed to be a fundraiser for Poet Jay Mehta who suffered a third stroke last week. (He is recovering and wish Jay and his family good health and better times ahead) Well, I already sent his family money and will continue to do so for the year based on this book's profits. However, they could use the support: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/authorjaym Add that self-imposed layer of pressure and the negative reel and forget it. Look if I don’t give the process my 110%, I’ll be complaining about it later. In fact, that is why I am producing the second edition, since back when I started publishing, I didn’t have this amazing editor, Aditya Deshmukh, and I should have spent more time with the novelette. It is now over 100 pages, but who cares? I’m on my deadline; I just don’t want to be such a negative jerk and stop producing because I love to write--despite all the torture that comes with it. Writing is wonderful, wonderful, but can be a major pain. Enough rant. I also want to #writerlift Author David Bowmore. But pay heed. If you sign up for this site, use the Reader option. His book The Magic of Deben Market is up for a contest. I would appreciate if you voted for his book @ booksoffice.com. It is an amazing pastiche of short stories that take place in Deben Market. I am loving the book and can’t wait to review it. Well, that is all I have because the novelette is calling—the bastard. Hope you are having a less contentions time with your writing. Also, if you haven’t done so, subscribe to my new YouTube channel Radical Books and Politics. Right now, it’s on hiatus because I’ve postponed the novelette, but I will most likely review a book mid-week of Red Bird by Author Steve Carr or The Magic of Deben Market. Keep on, and drag yourselves out of your pits of despair. Putting your work out there is worth the climb. I'm rooting for you!  MARK, THANK YOU FOR THIS INTERVIEW. NOW, I KNOW YOU ARE A LIBRARIAN. TELL MY READERS MORE ABOUT YOURSELF, WITHOUT REVEALING YOUR TRUE NATURE. I was originally an octopus but they excommunicated me because I thought we should call ourselves octopodes. It was a huge rift in the octopus community. So now I am a librarian and write fiction. Before that I was a shepherd who focused on rhyming couplets. I've worn many hats. All of them small. I have three very tiny heads. Most of all I miss the abyssal depths. And krill. Delicious krill. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST STORY ABOUT? When I was 10 or 11 I wrote a grisly story about a failed stuntman who nearly died after every stunt but was resuscitated by his handlers and nursed back to health just in time for the next catastrophe. I think he ended up being eaten by sharks, and his last words were, “Fuck youuuuuuuuu!” YOU ALSO WRITE AMAZING POETRY. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE POEM? I admire so many. But I think I am most awed by Stephen Dunn's "Loves" and Andrew Hudgins's "Heat Lightning in a Time of Drought." I AM ALWAYS IMPRESSED BY YOUR USE OF HUMOR AND WEIRD FICTION. WHAT INSPIRED THE LIBRARIAN AT THE END OF THE WORLD? It's non-fiction. YOU TAUGHT ME SOMETHING ABOUT A MACGUFFIN. WHAT IS THE MACGUFFIN IN THE STORY? DO YOU NORMALLY HAVE ONE IN YOUR NOVELS? The macguffin is the thing that motivates the action or keeps the plot going. It doesn't have to be entirely significant to the plot and doesn't even have to be revealed. But it is the thing that everyone is chasing. In Repo Man it was the thing in the trunk of the car. In Pulp Fiction it was the briefcase. In Librarian it is Carrie Fisher's washcloth. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE AUTHOR, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY? Would we be able to communicate if we spoke different languages and came from different times and cultures? I have lots of questions about this. Like, I would like to meet whoever put the Q source text together in the early Christian church, but I doubt we'd be able to span the language and culture gap. That would be really frustrating. How long do we get to suss shit out? Like is this a coffee date, or are we gonna be in a long-term relationship? Are we able to set aside time to get to know each other and establish the kind of rapport that would reveal something about ourselves? Do I still have to work, or could I take a sabbatical to talk to William Blake? Surely, I could get a sabbatical to tell William Blake that "eye" and "symmetry" don't rhyme. PLEASE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS. I have nothing on the horizon. I'm supposed to be working on a follow up novel to The Librarian at the End of the World that will be called The Two-Headed Lady at the End if the World (you may detect a theme) but I've been busy with real life. It's funny so far though, so I hope I can get back into it soon. ONE LAST FANTASY QUESTION: DO YOU THINK WRITING CAN TRANSFORM THE WORLD? IF SO HOW? I used to. Now I just think we need to make fun of everything. We are on a sinking ship and our last recourse is to mock the captain, the crew, the passengers, the iceberg, and the ocean. WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU ONLINE OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA? Home: https://authormarkmiller.com/ Twitter: @AuthorMarkMill1 Facebook: @theabsurdmarkmiller MARK, IT’S BEEN A REAL PLEASURE! I HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK SOON. Thanks. ---- The Librarian at the End of the World is available on Amazon.  Read a book review of The Librarian at the End of the World.  Happy New Year! I hope your winter break was productive, and that you got a lot of writing done.
My family and I spent most of this winter break recovering from being sick, and then I was laptop less for a week because my cat dumped a glass of water on it, which has forced me to (a) stop eating around where I work and (b) set up a real desk. I got a refurbished laptop last Friday, but I didn’t get my novelette Wolf Trek done. I hope to work on it this week after I get my regular work done. Outside of all these blocks, I am continuing with writing basics: writing, researching, and revising my work. I want to publish my debut novel The Harvested, this summer, but I don’t want to be hasty. In fact, I’ve been awfully slow in finishing that project, over 20 some years. Recently, I read two novels other writers published prematurely. The writing would have been outstanding. Rushing can also be the enemy for writers who are running the self-publishing rat race. Oh, then, another project “Nail Shop Warriors” also got rejected. The co-author, Hector Cruz, and I are revising it, especially the ending, and sending it to other anthologies. It was a lot of fun to work with him, but we need to spend more time smoothing out the story. It is a great piece, though. This year, I am not setting New Year’s writing goals. Well, maybe one writing goal. I have a mother of a time with the omniscient point of view. I write in the limited point of view, and then, slip up. The annoying part is that I don’t see the POV errors in my work, but I do in the work of others. Does that happen to you? Do you miss your writing sins and see them in others? Whatever your New Years goals are, I hope you exceed them. Keep writing! Keep reading. Keep on.  Author Carmen Baca CARMEN, IT’S A REAL HONOR TO HAVE YOU HERE. NOW, I KNOW YOU ARE A RETIRED SCHOOL TEACHER, AN AVID CAT RESCUER, AND THAT YOU LIVE IN NEW MEXICO. TELL MY READERS MORE ABOUT YOU. I’m a hermit, a homebody, a wife, mother, and grandmother. I’m an introvert and enjoy being interviewed on paper rather than in person. I enjoy performing community service and acting as secretary for my retired educators’ association. I am the last surviving Verónica of the rural community where I live and where I write about most often. WHAT IS A VERONICA? Las Verónicas were one of the women’s groups that assisted Los Hermanos, especially during Holy Week. I AM ALWAYS IMPRESSED BY YOUR USE OF CULTURE AND FOLKLORE IN YOU WORK. WHAT IS YOUR OWN FAVORITE STORY THAT SPEAKS TO YOUR TRADITIONS? My first book is my favorite since it took 25 years from the writing of it to the publication. That’s the book I wanted to publish because I knew it would be unique. The traditions of los Hermanos y las Verónicas played an important part of my life for so long. Los Hermanos were our spiritual leaders, our first community service society; the female society operated in concert with the brothers. I became a Verónica at age 5. The rituals I was privileged to participate in for Lent—las estaciones (the Stations of the Cross) and the processions like La Procesíon de la Cruz (the procession of the cross where a brother carried the cross on his back with the rest of us following in prayer and singing hymns) and Las Tinieblas (the Earthquake ceremonies on Good Friday which lasted till midnight in raucous cacophony of sound and despair because that was the night Christ went to hell)—those are the types of traditions so many of my culture have allowed to die. I seek to preserve them in my works. WHEN DID YOU KNOW YOU WERE A WRITER? WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST STORY ABOUT? I wrote my first book in 1992 when I unlocked a wooden box which had held secrets throughout my formative years. The contents confirmed what I suspected about the practices of a private religious brotherhood of which my father was leader. So much has been published about the brotherhood that misinforms or sensationalizes their private rituals; I wanted to write about them from the perspective of someone who revered the brothers and what they stood for. After that book published, I honestly thought it was to be my “one hit wonder.” After a small book tour my first publisher arranged, I got that lightbulb moment of inspiration and immediately began my third book. That was when I knew I wanted to write until I no longer can. WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING WORKS YOU HAVE PUT TOGETHER? WHY? It would have to be El Hermano because I was careful to keep what they wanted secret a secret. I didn’t write that book to divulge what today’s brothers still keep from the public, so when I found the ledger with their rules dating back to 1850, I censored myself so as not to offend my forefathers or those brothers who would possibly hold that against me. I explain in my forward that I wrote that book as a tribute to my father and los Hermanos, not to disclose what is not ours to know about their brotherhood. I KNOW YOU HAVE LEARNED A LOT FROM STUDYING AND TEACHING LITERATURE ABOUT HOW TO CRAFT A GREAT STORY, BUT IS THERE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO BETTER? I wish I could change my writing voice. No matter how I strive to write in a different voice, I revert back to my style. I’d like to get better at flash fiction and attempt drabbles. I’m too verbose and have to work hard to condense. I also want to experiment with more genres and POVs. IF YOU COULD MEET ONE AUTHOR, DEAD OR ALIVE, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY? I’ve already met the two authors I admire most: Rudolfo Anaya and Jimmy Santiago Baca. I communicated through email with Sandra Cisneros and Esmeralda Santiago, so I’m content with having made those connections. These are authors whose works I taught in my classes, so I’ve admired their styles and identified with some of their stories for a long time. It blows me away that both Anaya and Baca’s endorsements are on the covers of El Hermano and that Santiago asked for a signed copy of my book. I LOVE IT WHEN WRITERS DO THAT, WHEN THEY GIVE AWAY SIGNED COPIES OF THEIR WORK. PLEASE, TELL US ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING PUBLICATIONS. My fifth book is one I’m proud of because it developed from one plot to three intertwining plots as I wrote it. I didn’t even know what genre it was till I asked in writing groups. It’s a short story cycle. My sixth is another short story collection divided into sections—ghosts, saints, demons, and sinners. Two of my short stories have already been accepted for anthologies publishing in 2020, so I’m hoping I can get more of those published between books. ONE LAST FANTASY QUESTION: DO YOU THINK WRITING CAN TRANSFORM THE WORLD? IF SO HOW? Books in general can transform those who read them, and the readers can change the world depending on the contents, the themes, or the morals learned. In the case of my books, I hope to keep my culture’s traditions, customs, dialect, etc. alive for future readers to learn about a simpler time, a more rustic way of life, an era when respect and responsibility governed la gente’s actions. WHERE CAN READERS FIND YOU ONLINE OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA? http://plu.us/cbacacreations This one stop link takes you to my website, my page on my publisher’s website, my Amazon & FB pages, my YouTube channel, email, Flipboard, and Twitter accounts. CARMEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY FOR MY READERS! I HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK SOON. Thank you, hermana, for supporting my endeavors and for inviting me to do this interview. ---- Carmen Baca's works are available on Amazon.
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Dr. Jesú Estrada,
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