My latest contribution to Being Latino. Take a read and get involved!

“Metiche or metichi, the Spanish adjective that negatively describes a person as meddlesome or nosey, is not usually a flattering compliment. In my Mexican culture, I was regularly reprimanded as a young girl for being a metiche, as my constant curiosity and people-watching habit would find me staring, when in public. To date, I cannot read or work out in public as my fascination for my fellow beings is simple intense. However, don’t take it as a critical judgment, it is an admiration for the human condition and diverse perspective. So, yes, I continue to be a strong example of what it is to be a constructive metiche, with a genuine motive for awareness and understanding. Therefore, when invited to Latino community engagements I clear my calendar in order to attend these public events and be the best metiche possible.”

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Send your draft to me, I will gladly read, proof and comment!

¡Buena suerte!  Best of luck!

~Teresa

Topic: “from the back of the truck”

Texas Book Festival, in partnership with the University Interscholastic League, announces its 12th annual Fiction Writing Contest, sponsored by Kirkus Reviews, to encourage and reward creative writing in Texas schools. This year’s fiction writing contest theme is “from the back of the truck.” The topic was selected by Texas Book Festival fans on Facebook, who voted it as their favorite of three choices.

Texas junior and high school students (grades 7-12) are invited to submit a piece of original fiction, no more than 2,000 words in length. Entries must be submitted online no later than July 27, 2013. Submitted entries are considered in three divisions: grades 7-8; grades 9-10; and grades 11-12.

There is no entry fee, and schools are limited to three entries per division. The submissions will be judged by educators, authors, and community leaders. Judges will look for excellence in use of dialogue, character development, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution.

Winners will receive a cash prize: $250 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third. In addition, first place winners will be awarded a plaque, will have their stories published on the TBF website, and will be invited to participate on a panel during the Texas Book Festival weekend Oct. 26-27. The Book Festival will provide accommodations for the first-place winners and their family for one night.

Since 2001, the Texas Book Festival has partnered with UIL to host its annual fiction writing contest. The mission of the Texas Book Festival is to celebrate authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. The writing contest serves to promote that culture to students across Texas and to educate them on the opportunities available to writers.

About Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival is a nonprofit organization that celebrates authors and their contributions to the culture of literacy, ideas, and imagination. Founded in 1995 by Laura Bush and a group of volunteers, the annual Festival is held on the grounds of the Texas Capitol, and this year will be held the weekend of Oct. 26 and 27. The Festival features readings and discussions from more than 250 renowned Texas and national authors, entertaining and informing more than 40,000 adults and children alike. Thanks to the Festival’s 1,000 volunteers, the event remains free and open to the public. TBF supports Texas public libraries and literacy through its Library Grants and Reading Rock Stars programs, and also hosts year-round events across the state. Texas Book Festival members receive invitations to exclusive author events, priority seating, the latest literary news, and more. Visit www.texasbookfestival.org for more information.

The plan… NOT to get constrained or distracted by an infatuation with another. Simple, clear, and safe.  The perfect plan to allow for a professional and successful career as a feminist, Latina writer living abroad, enjoying travel, and living a fulfilling cultural life. I envisioned myself surrounded by children, yet uncommitted. Whose children? Not my own, that’s for sure! That was my plan and I was sticking to it while working on my Master’s degree in College Station, Texas.

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About Glimmer Train Press

Glimmer Train has been discovering and publishing emerging writers since 1990.

These are the things Glimmer Train hopes to do:

- Publish literary short stories that were emotionally significant. We knew that at its best, a story could add depth and breadth to real life, and those were the stories we wanted to print.

- Present stories in a handsome physical publication that people would keep, giving the stories the long lives and future readings they deserved.

- Keep a keen eye out for new voices, favoring pieces by emerging writers.

- Permanently have a no-reading-fee category (our “standard” category) so no writer would be prevented from making submissions because of finances.

- Pay writers well for stories we accepted for publication. (In a year’s time now, we pay over $45,000 to writers, nearly a third of that to emerging writers.)

Upcoming Very Short Fiction Contest

We invite you to submit your very short stories (maximum word count 3,000) within the next 21 days.

Reading fee is $15 per story; please, no more than three submissions per contest.

Open to all writers. Any short story that has not appeared in print, nor been accepted by a print publication, is welcome!

Maximum length: 3000 words

Held twice a year: Open to submissions in January and July.

January Deadline: January 31

Submissions at: Glimmer Train’s online submission site

Prizes:

• 1st place: $1,500 and publication in Glimmer Train Stories, and 20 copies of that issue.
• 2nd place: $500, or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies
• 3rd place: $300, or, if accepted for publication, $700 and 10 copies

Things You Should Know about Submitting Your Stories and Submission Categories

Sign up for their free monthly bulletins at this link.

Sententia Vera is happy to see one of our recently reviewed titles on this list!

2013 Book Club Selections

January 2013 | Have You Seen Marie?

By Sandra Cisneros

Pub: Random House Inc.

Pub Date: October 2012

ISBN:  9780307597946

$15.75 USD | Hardcover

The internationally acclaimed author of The House on Mango Street gives us a deeply moving tale of loss, grief, and healing: a lyrically told, richly illustrated fable for grown-ups about a woman’s search for a cat who goes missing in the wake of her mother’s death.

The word “orphan” might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra feels as she finds herself motherless, alone like “a glove left behind at the bus station.” What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, posting flyers and asking everywhere, Have you seen Marie? the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning. With full-color illustrations that bring this transformative quest to vivid life, Have You Seen Marie? showcases a beloved author’s storytelling magic, in a tale that reminds us how love, even when it goes astray, does not stay lost forever.

February 2013 | 8 Ways to Say “I Love My Life!”

By Josefina Lopez

Pub: Arte Publico Press

Pub Date: November 2012

ISBN: 9781558857544

$12.72 USD | Paperback

“If you don’t do anything, nothing will happen.” Nancy De Los Santos Reza learned this important lesson early in life. College wasn’t an option, so she got a job as a secretary. A colleague, an older woman who had taken a liking to her, encouraged Nancy to ask her supervisor about attending a professional conference in California. “What’s the worst that could happen?”, the woman asked. “They say ‘no’ and you don’t go? You’re already not going.” As a result, Nancy found herself in San Francisco on a life-changing trip. She would go on to earn two college degrees and become the producer of Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s movie review program, At the Movies.

March 2013 | Ink

By Sabrina Vourvoulias

Pub: Crossed Genres

Pub Date: October 2012

ISBN: 9780615657813

$13.95 USD | Paperback

What happens when rhetoric about immigrants escalates to an institutionalized population control system? The near-future, dark speculative novel Ink opens as a biometric tattoo is approved for use to mark temporary workers, permanent residents and citizens with recent immigration history—collectively known as inks.

Set in a fictional city and small, rural town in the U.S. during a 10-year span, the novel is told in four voices: a journalist; an ink who works in a local population control office; an artist strongly tied to a specific piece of land; and a teenager whose mother runs an inkatorium (a sanitarium-internment center opened in response to public health concerns about inks).

The main characters grapple with ever-changing definitions of power, home and community; relationships that expand and complicate their lives; personal magicks they don t fully understand; and perceptions of otherness based on ethnicity, language, class and inclusion. In this world, the protagonists magicks serve and fail, as do all other systems—government, gang, religious organization—until only two things alone stand: love and memory.

Las Comadres Para Las Americas, headquartered in Austin, is proud to announce the launch of the Spanish-language version of their book, Count On Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships. The original English-language version made its worldwide debut on September 4, 2012. The new release, titled Cuenta Conmigo: Conmovedoras historias de hermandad y amistades incondicionales, is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.

In twelve creative nonfiction narratives, mostly by women, the authors reflect on the importance of “comadres” in their lives. The authors include Carolina De Robertis, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, Reyna Grande, Michelle Herrera Mulligan, Dr. Lorraine Lopez, Daisy Martinez, Dr. Ana Nogales, Sofia Quintero, Teresa Rodriguez, Esmeralda Santiago, Fabiola Santiago, and Luis Alberto Urrea.

Although the number of English-speaking Latinos in the United States is growing as more generations are born and raised here, a majority of the population is still either Spanish-dominant or bilingual. According to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center in April of 2012, for 38% of all Hispanics in the U.S., Spanish is still the primary language. Another 38% of Hispanics claim bilingualism, and for the remaining 24%, English is the primary language.

“There are many comadres, along with others, who want to read in Spanish,” says Nora de Hoyos Comstock, national founder of Las Comadres Para Las Americas and visionary for the book, Count On Me. “For some, it is easier than reading in English, and for others, the practice of reading in Spanish keeps us current in the language and closer to our heritage.”

Count On Me, edited by acclaimed author and editor Adriana V. Lopez, is the first literary work produced by Las Comadres, the nation’s largest Latina organization. For twelve years, the non-profit has grown into an extensive network of comadres spanning the globe who come from all walks of life but are united in their love of culture, literacy, and education.

The word “comadre” is a unique term with intimate connotations. According to a literal translation, a comadre is a “godmother,” but in the Latino culture, it goes far beyond that. Through exclusive interviews with the contributing authors of the book, a similar theme comes up in conversation – a comadre is more than a friend and more than a sister. She is both.

Comadres can be family members, mentors, co-workers, or neighbors. In essence, comadres are like the godmothers of our fairy tales – they are there to take care of us and support us in our best and worst moments. What readers learn in the book Count On Me is concept of “comadreship” manifesting itself in various ways throughout a woman’s life.

Atria Books

Cuenta conmigo: Conmovedoras historias de hermandad y amistades incondicionales

By Las Comadres para las Americas

Edited by: Adriana V. Lopez

Pub: Atria Books

Pub Date: January 2013

ISBN: 9781451699715

$11.25 USD | Paperback

The Latinidad® Best Latino Books of 2012

Literary Fiction – Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique
Fans of the classics in general and Cervantes in particular will devour this lovingly crafted tribute filled with passion and adventure.

Memoir – Darkroom: A Memoir in Black & White by Lila Quintero Weaver
Vivid rendering of the civil rights movement conveyed with the innocence and openness of a wise child.

Poetry – When My Brother Was an Aztec by Natalie Diaz
An unexpected male muse extracts visceral yet clear-eyed poems from a perceptive poet who saw too much at a tender age.

Debut Nonfiction– Free Stylin’: How Hip Hop Changed the Fashion Industry by Elena Romero
Mix journalism, history, and pop culture then add a hefty dose of scholarly swagger to create this eminently readable book that defies categorization.

Suspense – Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias
If Margaret Atwood were Latina, this eerily believable depiction of where U.S. immigration policy is heading is the novel she would have written instead of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Cookbook – Flavor Exposed: 100 Global Recipes from Sweet to Salty, Earthy to Spicy by Angelo Sosa
Foodies who want to kick up their repertoire a notch will appreciate the sophisticated yet simple-to-prepare recipes and Sosa’s elemental approach to interpreting and combining tastes.

Women’s Fiction – The Second Time We Met by Leila Cobo
This engrossing page-turner with a smooth, quick pace, instantly relatable characters, and a spot on ending belongs on every nightstand.

Young Adult – The Downside of Being Charlie by Jenny Torres Sanchez
Perfectly conveys the voice of a teen boy who captures your heart and who you will miss the second you put down the book.

Middle Grade – Latin Americans Thought of It: Amazing Innovations by Eva Salinas
Kids and their parents are sure to be impressed by this enthusiastic, illustrated celebration of Latino ingenuity.

Children’s Picture Book – My Dad is the Best Playground by Luciana Navarro Powell
A refreshingly Dad-centric story that is deservedly destined to be read and reread.

We’re not alone, we are born into a family or a community, a circle, if you will. Whether that circle is positive or negative is our fortune, yet still not alone. Hence we must learn to appreciate the opportunities for connections, for bonds that we must learn to nurture and liberate. Fear must not compel these bonds, although acknowledging such apprehension should take part in our involvement.

Comadres and compadres are those bonds in the Latino culture that help balance our souls, spirits, and beings within our individual circles. COUNT ON ME: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships by Las Comadres Para Las Americas gifts us with various perspectives of such bonds. I don’t believe the Latino, Hispano, Chicano cultures are exclusive to this realm of bonds, however for the most part, there is no fear in openly and passionately sharing this cultural resolve. This collection of tales by Latin@ authors takes its readers through intellectual, physical, and emotional journeys. These are passages that may relate closely or initiate a personal determination to experience a new social perspective, one without isolation or indifference. Truly a collection that must be shared!

THIS IS A GIVEAWAY BLOG TOUR!! Be the 4^th friend to leave a comment about your fierce friendship(s) or your intent to start one, and Atria Books will send you a free copy! Please email SV with your name and address (US or Canada only) and a copy will be sent before the holidays. Happy Holidays!

About the Book

Friendships can bring us peace, fill the emotional shortcomings in our romantic relationships, and help us remember what lies deep inside every one of us. For more than twelve years, the international organization Las Comadres Para Las Americas™ has been bringing together thousands of Latinas to count on, lean on, help, and advise one another.

Comadre is a powerful term. It encompasses the most important relationships that exist between women: best friends, confidants, coworkers, advisers, neighbors, godmothers to one’s children, and even midwives.

Edited by acclaimed author and editor Adriana V. López, this collection of stories features twelve prominent Latina/o authors who reveal how friendships have helped them to overcome difficult moments in their lives. Fabiola Santiago, Luis Alberto Urrea, Reyna Grande, and Teresa Rodríguez tell their stories of survival in the United States and in Latin America, where success would have been impossible without a friend’s support. Esmeralda Santiago, Lorraine López, Carolina De Robertis, Daisy Martínez, and Dr. Ana Nogales explore what it means to have a comadre help you through years of struggle and self-discovery. And authors Sofia Quintero, Stephanie Elizondo Griest, and Michelle Herrera Mulligan look at the powerful impact of the humor and humanity that their comadres brought to each one’s life, even in the darkest moments.

*Note: This post was an official stop during the Count on Me: Tales of Sisterhoods and Fierce Friendships Condor Book Tour. Sententia Vera purchased its copy in support of Las Comadres Para Las Americas and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are our own.

By: Las Comadres Para Las Americas

Edited by: Adriana V. López

Pub: Atria Books

Pub Date: September 2012

ISBN: 9781451642018

$12.00 USD | Paperback

As a proud, new mother of a 2-year old and twin infant boys, again I found myself surrounded by women! This time though, tired and self-doubting nascent stay-at-home and working mothers that seemed to judge each other in order to gain a bit of confidence in their parenting skills and choices. “I will never step out of my home again,” I vowed! Women can be our own worst enemies.

This past year, alone in a new state and home, surrounded by my husband, four sons and daughter, I was longing for adult, female companionship. “I want my female relatives, mother-buddies, mis comadres, and la Virgen de Guadalupe to vent my frustrations and assure me that I had the courage to keep moving forward,” I sulked.

Funny how swearing and vowing comes back to bite ya! It was a tough year, however I’m making it with the support from the women I know I can count on, their numbers programmed on my speed dial FAVORITES, from a distance of 2000 miles, and of course, the heavens.

Now, I’m gathering another circle of local women. Imagine that! Intentionally surrounding myself with more women; young and old, mothers, partners, colleagues, advocates, and friends. They are making my FAVORITES list longer and I am so much better for it.

Thanks gals, peeps, comadres, and friends. Here’s my holiday gift of thanks, 512.633.4327. Add me to your FAVORITES… I’ve got your backs.

Also, a gift from one of the strongest and loveliest woman I had the pleasure of knowing and admiring, mi abuelita Tere.

~ La mujer fuerte ~

Una hermosa mujer pasó entre los hombres con altivez natural.

Acaso aquello no era altivez; acaso era la arrogancia que,

a los seres fuertes y tranquilos infunde la presencia de los seres mezquinos y temerosos.

Envuelta en el primer aliento de otoño ella reunía todos los valores dispersos.

Fuerte, grande, armónica y bella, no era la visión de un sueño. Sino la presencia de una realidad poderosa.

Su edad indeterminada, hablaba de su valor persistente.

Al pasar tersa la frente al viento, doblegada, brillantes los ojos en el fragor del día, el césped guardó las huellas de sus pies.

     Y los hombres libidinosos, que no tuvieron fuerzas para sentir a su presencia el menor deseo, mordieron el recuerdo de la que los hizo sentirse ruines y despreciables.

~Teresa Jurado de Grado

Thank you for coming to visit on Day 6 of the 2012 Holiday Blog Tour! Be the 2^nd woman to leave a comment for a free copy of THE LADY MATADOR’S HOTEL by Cristina García. Suerte! 

Lastly, but certainly not least, muchísimas gracias a Icess Fernandez Rojas for inviting me to be a part of this diverse group of women artists and bloggers, I am honored to be among you.

Stay tuned for Day 7 of the Holiday Blog Tour with Nathasha Alvarez of Audacious Lady!

The Lady Matador’s Hotel

By Cristina García

Pub: Simon & Schuster

Pub Date: September 2010

ISBN: 9781439181744

$18.00 USD | Hardcover