Winner of Estevan Vega's book

The lucky winner of Estevan's book is John!!

John, please contact Estevan with your mailing address. And congratulations!

Today, visit Rafael Marquez's blog at:
http://www.rafaelmarquez.meto continue learning more about Estevan.

Julia

Chat with Estevan Vega

Today, I have the pleasure of hosting a Estevan Vega, the talented young author of SACRED SIN. SACRED SIN was published when he was 18 years old, and tells the story of Jude Foster, a cynical self-loathing detective,assigned to bring down a serial killer capable of stealing victim's souls without ever touching them. Vega’s story-lines dwell somewhere in between fiction and reality, a place where the world is as blurred and irregular as human choice and consequence.

Since he started writing at such a young age, I thought it would interesting for Estevan to share his experiences and perhaps inspire other teens who have a love of writing. Hope you enjoy our chat. I did!

Lara: Hi Estevan. Many young writers tell me they want to write, but they don't think anyone in publishing will take them seriously. Did you have these type of thoughts and did you find it to be true? How should young people approach the world of publishing?

Estevan: Honestly, I just decided to write a book. It started when I was in 5th grade. I had these mundane, lame writing assignments, which I had no interest in doing whatsoever. My father was the one who told me to get away from the TV, sit down, and listen to him, while he painted pictures in my mind. From there, the stories we created were very cool. I remember my first really good one was dark, had a detective and a demonic element to it, very much like The Sacred Sin. At the time, I had no idea I could be published, what publishing entailed or how to go about it. I just knew that once I started getting good grades on these lame assignments, and once the kids in my class started listening to the teacher read them aloud, I knew I had something. A small spark can sometimes become a great consuming fire, and that's just what happened. Little did I know how hard (and awesome, and fun, and freakin crazy) the journey would be. Every young person out there, if there is something within you, some small spark of interest or passion for the written word, for creating, then let that spark grow, let it become a fire. Let it consume your doubt, your fears and your ambition. Being a writer is very difficult, takes a lot of patience, and a lot of rejection. It's kinda like dating. So get ready to fall in love (spot an agent/publisher) , go out a few times (get manuscript requests) , and get dumped (manuscript rejections). But remember, there's usually someone out there for everyone...so keep writing, no matter how young or old you are. It'll happen.

Lara: Excellent advice! Wow, I wish I had been that savvy in my early 20's -- not sure I am now. Okay, I have a question on parent support. Parent's tend not to be thrilled with their children going into the arts, because frankly, the pay isn't great and chances of success are slim without a lot of work and talent. I know you had a supportive father. What advice can you give to teens that don't have this support?

Estevan: It is true that I have a very supportive father. In fact, I sometimes wonder if I'd even be a writer without his guidance. But at the same time, that passion hit me so quickly that maybe it was fate or destiny or whatever. I've heard it all before, that writing isn't really a job and that stringing nice words together can't put food on the table. Many skeptics squint their eyes when I tell them I'm a writer or that I want to write. The truth is that a lot of people don't understand. Yes, it is a very hard road to be a writer, but it is the only thing I can see myself doing. I believe that the words I write mean something, and that goes beyond the dollars and cents. Maybe I'll be rich and famous one day, and that'd be awesome; but if not, I'll know that I took a shot, that I followed my passion and tried when most people would have quit at the starting line. That's why I started early. I figured if I put out a book at 15, then by the time I was 30, the odds had to be in my favor. So, all that to say that you should follow your passions, your heart. Write as often as you can, and read other great writers. Have fun with each word and phrase and piece of dialog. At first, your work might sometimes look like Picasso, and at other times like Rembrandt, but in time, you'll find what style suits you. And BELIEVE in yourself. Tattoo this on your body somewhere (figurative request...please, don't do this). If you can't find support at home, then try to find a group of other writers and readers, people you can bounce ideas off of and critique your stuff. Try to get published small, like in a local newspaper or school press or literary magazine. Then again, for me, I just went for the pot of gold. I mean...silver. Bronze?

Lara: I totally agree with you, Estevan. I especially love the advice about finding other writers that understand what's driving you. No one understands the passion inside writers like other writers. Last question: I'm assuming you wrote your first book while still in high school. How do you balance a passion (in your case writing) with demands of school?

Estevan: Yes. Servant of the Realm is my first book, and it was published the summer before my sophomore year in high school. That was five years ago. Wow...crazy. How do I balance a passion with demands of school? Not well. I've said this before, that if I ever had to choose between school work and writing, writing would always win, hands down. But the fact of the matter is that I need school, because there are plenty of things I never would have learned: stuff about other writers, techniques, point of view. If I didn't get forced to learn about these things, I probably never would have known about them. So, school is good, and who wants to be an idiot, right? I think it's important to write whenever you can. Ideas will hit you, sometimes at random. Be ready for them. And just write, whether you have a paper due the next day or a math test to study for. Don't let one suffer to save the other. For me, I just wrote when I could. I guess at the end of the day, if the apocalypse were to happen, and I still had my computer...I think I'd be all right.

Lara: That's how I feel too - LOL. A couple of years ago, we had evacuations due to fire close to my house, and I packed up my kids, dogs, and my computer. Figured nothing else mattered. It's been great chatting with you. Thank you so much for stopping by, and best of luck!


For a chance to win a copy of Estevan's awesome book, leave a comment. I will draw a name tomorrow, Saturday at 5pm.

Happy to announce that author Estevan Vega is going on a blog tour. He'll be here on June 19th, but you can catch him at the following locations until then:

June 14
Eljumpingbean
http://authorslatino.com/wordpress
http://eljumpingbean.blogspot.com
Hilarious! Don't miss it.

June 15
Latinitas Magazine
http://www.latinitasmagazine.org

June 16
The Art of Random Willynillyness.com
Carol in Carolina
http://theartofrandomwillynillyness.blogspot.com
http://caroincarolina.blogspot.com

June 17
Caridad Pineiro
http://www.caridad.com/

June 18
Writing to Insanity
http://www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com

June 19
Julia Amante
http://www.juliaamante.comblogspot.com/

June 20
Musings
http://Nilkibenitez.blogspot.com

June 21
rafaelMarquez.me
http://www.rafaelmarquez.me

June 22
Latina Reader
http://blogs.qoobole.com/latina-reader

June 23
Café of Deams
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/

June 24
Latino Pundit
http://www.latinopundit.com

June 25
Queer Latino Musings on Literature
http://charlievazquez.wordpress.com/

June 26
Mama Latina Tips
http://www.mamalatinatips.com

June 27
Latino Book Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner

Enjoy!

Julia

I was wondering what I could share about Argentina this week and thought it would be fun to introduce you to other Argentine authors. But I found, that actually, I don't know much about Argentine authors, shameful as that is to admit.

Growing up I knew of Jose Luis Borges and read parts of folk classic Martin Fierro and don't even know who wrote that.

So I started surfing the web to see what I could find and came across a blog that spoke about Foundation TyPA who distributed a brochure at the Franfurt book festival on 30 Argentine writers who were not yet translated. Hopefully some of these will be translated to English, because the stories look interesting. To see the brochure follow this link:
http://www.rochester.edu/College/translation/threepercent/index.php?s=file_download&id=25

This gives a good idea of the type of current writers in Argentina. I'd love to find a few writers that already translated. If I tried to read them in Spanish it would probably take me all year to read one book. If anyone out there wants to recommend a few books, please do. Or even better, American-Argentine authors.

Until next time,

Julia

Jr. Olympians Inspire Greatness

Had an awesome weekend with my friends from Florida. I went to watch their twelve year old daughter compete in a gymnastics meet in Del Mar. This is the first competition of this type that I've attended and enjoyed it.

Anytime I'm around people that are doing something they love, I get re-inspired to do what I love, which is of course, to write. These young girls are SO good. My friend tells me they practice for hours. At this level her daughter spends 4 to 5 hours a day practicing. And of course, the closer they get to the Elite level, the more hours they have to dedicate to their chosen sport.

Do those of us that write or would like to write "put in" the numbers of hours it takes to be great? Do we test our skills in writing competitions or by submitting out work to agents and editors? I think greatness really does take a lot of work. It takes time on the computer, putting words on a page. It takes a willingness to attend workshops to continually improve our skills.

The girls at the meet today were focused on each event. My friend warned me not to expect her daughter to acknowledge that we were in the audience because she would not. And I could completely understand that. She wouldn't allow herself to get distracted. I do this when I write. I tune everyone and everything out. I try not to judge what I'm writing until I go back and edit, otherwise I would probably sensor what I wrote. So focus is important.

Also, in writing it's important to do what I was lucky enough to do this weekend, and that is to get away from your work and do something that inspires you. Great people inspire me. For others it might be a weekend in the mountains. Whatever it is, getting away from the work gives you perspective. Practicing is important, but so are breaks every once in a while.

So I'm feeling refreshed and ready to start a busy week. By the way, my friend's daughter came in second all around. She was awesome!!

Julia

Making Beef Barley Soup

I'm starting to think I need to vary my Wednesday or I'm going to have nothing but reciepes on my blog. But not to change in mid-week, he is another favorite of mine. Beef Barley Soup. On cold days, this is soooo good.

You'll need:

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat


2 tablespoons of cooking oil


7 cups water


1 16-ounce can tomatoes, cut up


1 large onion, chopped


2 tablesppons instant beef bouillon granules


1 1/2 teaspoons salt


1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed


1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce


2 cups sliced carrot


1 cup sliced celery


2/3 cup quick-cooking barley


1/2 cup chopped green pepper





Directions


In a large kettle or Dutch oven brown meat in hot oil over low heat; drain well. Still in water, undrained tomatoes, onion bouillon granules, salt, basil, and Worcestershire sauce. Cover, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Stir in carrot, celery, barley, and green pepper. Cover, simmer for 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (though I find I don't need to add anything at this point)





This is great to make when you have time, because though it doesn't take a lot of prep time, it takes a long time simmering. But it's well worth the wait.





We've been having lots of rainy days, and it's great on those days.





Hope you enjoy!





Julia

Argentine Wines

In California, we're all waiting to see what kind of budget out state government will pass, and how much we will be taxed in the next few years. For the first time, my husband and I are talking about why we want to continue to live here. But since this is too depressing a topic to discuss, I'm going to move on to talking about something much more interesting. I'm currently working on a novel which will take place in the the wine country of Argentina and Southern California.

Researching wine-making has been an interesting part of the process, an no not because I've spent countless hours tasting the different varieties of wine. I'd had Argentine and Californian wines before, but I didn't know what I was tasting until I began to learn a little about the differences between Argentine Malbecs, Syrahs, and Cabernet Sauvignons. I'll never be an expert, but I delved into the process of wine making and wine appreciation enough to flavor my novel accordingly.

Argentine wines have been mostly undiscovered by other countries. They are produced in the province of Mendoza. This region enjoys a perfect climate of abundant sun and little rain. Also unlike other Argentine provinces, it has low humidity. The soil is rocky but rich in nutrients. The combination ends up producing excellent premium wines with unique characteristics. They share an intense color, and are not too dry which I like. The Malbec which is the Argentine specialty has "velvety soft tannins and low acidity" according to the bottle, and I guess this is a good thing.

Argentine wines are not only good, but inexpensive compared to some European and American wines, so they are easy on your budget. So even if California keeps trying to tax us out of existance we can afford to buy a bottle of wine every once in a while. Here is a good site to find out more information of Argentine wines: http://argentine-wine.suite101.com/article.cfm/malbec_great_cheap_red_wine

And this one is one that was helpful to me in how to "taste" wine: http://www.welcomeargentina.com/vino/catar_i.html

So if you're stressing over the California taxes or buried under snow or rain today, go get yourself a bottle of wine and maybe some cheese and crackers and try it out. Let me know what you think.

Julia