I’m delighted and privileged to be a part of the Holiday Blog Tour 2011. A blog tour organized by none other than Icess Fernandez Rojas, of the intriguing blog site, Writing to Insanity. Icess managed to organize 23 talented, dedicated, and diverse women writers to join in the merriment and gift our [...]]]>

I’m delighted and privileged to be a part of the Holiday Blog Tour 2011. A blog tour organized by none other than Icess Fernandez Rojas, of the intriguing blog site, Writing to Insanity. Icess managed to organize 23 talented, dedicated, and diverse women writers to join in the merriment and gift our collective readers with an array of stories, essays, poems, and more!

We have something for everyone, from poets to fiction writers and some memoir folks are coming to party too.

And if you’re a really good reader, some will have a present for you. And if you’re a super good reader, and read all the stories, there’s a present for you, too. But you have to wait until the end. ~Icess

The tour is wrapping up and Dulce’s turn is coming up in a couple of days! I been writing and rewriting Dulce’s contribution, anxious to share with you the final piece. Make sure to return this Friday, December 23, for a quick cultural read and a chance to win a holiday cultural gift!

For now I’ll share with you the tour’s stars and their varied contributions.

Dec. 2 Julia Amante

Dec. 3 Radames Ortiz

Dec. 4 Deborah Grace Staley

Dec. 5 Zoraida Cordova

Dec. 6 Danielle Klenak

Dec. 7 Lupe Mendez

Dec. 8 Natasha Oliver

Dec. 9 Maria Ferrer

Dec. 10 Sidney Williams

Dec. 11 Toni Plummer

Dec. 12 Mayra Calvani

Dec. 13 Kristy Harding

Dec. 14 Thelma Reyna

Dec. 15.Sylvia Mendoza

Dec. 16 Regina Tingle

Dec. 17 Teresa Dovalpage

Dec. 18 Mirta Espinola

Dec. 19 Kim Brown

Dec. 20 Gwen Jerris

Dec. 21 Paula Altschuler

Dec. 22 Caridad Pinero

Dec. 23 Teresa Carbajal Ravet

Dec. 24 Icess Fernandez Rojas

Las Comadres de Sowing the Seeds, a women’s writing collective, has been gathering in Tucson, Arizona since 2000. Its mission is to promote humanities within the community. The women writers meet monthly to discuss and critique each other’s writing, participate in writing and art activities, and invite authors to present writing workshops. [...]]]> About the Authors

Las Comadres de Sowing the Seeds, a women’s writing collective, has been gathering in Tucson, Arizona since 2000. Its mission is to promote humanities within the community. The women writers meet monthly to discuss and critique each other’s writing, participate in writing and art activities, and invite authors to present writing workshops. Through a comadre relationship, they promote women’s writing, readings, and publication by sponsoring writing workshops and conferences for the women in the community.

About the Book

A new anthology by Las Comadres de Sowing the Seeds is set to debut December 2011 and currently ready for pre-order. Our Spirit, Our Reality: Celebrating Our Stories is a 448 page paperback book about the writing process.

Writing is a salve for life’s bumps and bruises. Through the process of writing, the transformation of giving voice to their experiences becomes the Comadres’ vehicle to creativity. This book will touch your soul, reach in and reawaken your spirit to speak your own truths. Writing as Healing begins the first section in this anthology of the Sowing the Seeds women’s writing group and sets the stage for what is to come. The rich outpouring of lives lived reflected through story and poetry fills the reader with a nostalgia rarely glimpsed at during the day-to-day act of living, where regrets often fill the void of things left unsaid.

Our Spirit, Our Reality: Celebrating Our Stories

By Las Comadres de Sowing the Seeds

Pub: Wheatmark

Pub Date: December 15, 2011

ISBN: 978160946635

$20.95 USD | Paperback

Currently Accepting Pre-Orders

Over at Latina author Mila Ramos’ blog site you will find a sweet month-long tour of “amazing stories, great authors, and just the most intense soon-to-reads” that readers will see in a while! The adult literature site has over 35 scheduled literary visits that will take you through December 18th and offers [...]]]>

Mila Ramos

Over at Latina author Mila Ramos’ blog site you will find a sweet month-long tour of “amazing stories, great authors, and just the most intense soon-to-reads” that readers will see in a while! The adult literature site has over 35 scheduled literary visits that will take you through December 18^th and offers the chance to win some literary sweets! “So pick a day or everyday” and join Mila for some “delicious decadence.” Two lucky contest reading lovers will be chosen from emails/comments for the chance to win one of two $50 Amazon gift cards!

The tour began a couple of days ago with author David Russell. Take a look and get caught up!

Come back to shop for your favorite author(s) of the Marvelous Tour at Dulce Bread & Book Shop.

Sweet Schedule

November 6 – David Russell – Part I     

November 7 – David Russell – Part II

November 8 – Berta Platas

November 10 – Sultry Summers – The Heirs of the Dragon’s Eye

November 11 – Anna James – Isabella’s Dilemma

November 12 – NuncaSola’s – Guest Blog – Del Carmen 

November 13th – 19th: Curious Hearts Anthology Authors

            Nov 13 – INTRO INTO CURIOUS HEARTS ANTHOLOGY

            Nov 14 - Jane Carver        

            Nov 15 – Walt Trizna

            Nov 16 – TD Jones     

            Nov 17 – James N. Cricket

            Nov 18 – Jenny Twist

            Nov 19 – INTRO INTO SPELLBOUND ANTHOLOGY

November 20th – 26th:  Spellbound Anthology Authors

            Nov 20 – John Mecom

            Nov 21 – Tara Fox Hall

            Nov 22 – Walt Trizna

            Nov 23 – Joanna Foreman

            Nov 24 – John Steiner

            Nov 25 – Tori Ridgewood

            Nov 26 – Jenny Twist      

November 27th – FIRST CONTEST!!!!!

November 28^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Rashda Khan

November 29^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Elysa Hendricks

November 30^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Arwen Lynch

December 1^st – Book Tour Blog for Michelle Beattie

December 2^nd - Kiss and Tell Tour - Melissa Mayhue

December 3^rd – Kiss and Tell Tour - Karen McCullough

December 4^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Nina Pierce 

December 5^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Barbara Monajem

December 6^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Laura Kaye

December 7^th – Kiss and Tell Tour - Stacey Kennedy

December 8^th – Judy Powell Guest Blog for Hot Summer

December 10^th – Lizzy Ford Guest Blog for Damian’s Oracle

December 12^th – Kasonndra Leigh Guest Blog When Copper Suns Fall

December 14^th - Ruth J. Hartman

December 15^th- Anna James – Shattered Dreams

December 16^th – Zoraida Cordova – Mermaids/Mermen

December 17^th - NuncaSola’s Terri Molina

December 18^th - SECOND CONTEST!!!!!

On October 20 thru 22 the Academy of American Poets hosted a “series of events exploring the ever-changing landscape of contemporary poetry in America” in New York City. The Forum featured “in-depth discussions with an array of distinguished poets; reading; lectures; publications parties; and a selection of literary walking [...]]]>

Univ of California Press

On October 20 thru 22 the Academy of American Poets hosted a “series of events exploring the ever-changing landscape of contemporary poetry in America” in New York City. The Forum featured “in-depth discussions with an array of distinguished poets; reading; lectures; publications parties; and a selection of literary walking tours, led by poets, throughout Manhattan.” These literary events included a Poets Awards Ceremony in which the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award was given. Founded in 1976, this $1,000 award recognizes a published translation of poetry from any language into English. A noted translator, Charles Martin, chose the winning book. The 2011 honoree is Jeffrey Matthew Angles for his work, FOREST OF EYES: Selected Poems of Tada Chimako. Dulce Bread & Book Shop applauds Mr. Angles for sharing a poetic cultural treasure with US readers.

Forest of Eyes: Selected Poems of Tada Chimako

By Tada Chimako

Translator Jeffrey M Angles

Pub: University of California Press

Pub Date: 2010

ISBN 9780520260511

$21.95 UDS | Paperback

Dulce Bread & Book Shop promotes travel and the experience of cultures. Faraway travel is not always necessary to experience a different existence, dialect, or… food! Traveling to the other side of town, to a sister city, to a neighboring state, and across the country would, in itself, initiate an [...]]]>

Blaine Creek Press

Dulce Bread & Book Shop promotes travel and the experience of cultures. Faraway travel is not always necessary to experience a different existence, dialect, or… food! Traveling to the other side of town, to a sister city, to a neighboring state, and across the country would, in itself, initiate an enlightening, cultural experience. So when Travels With Max: In Search of Steinbeck’s America 50 Years Later by Gregory Zeigler crossed our path we were delighted by its journey. Travels With Max offers an upbeat and humorous perspective on modern America and a retrospective on Steinbeck’s life and work. Inspired by Steinbeck’s classic, Travels With Charley, Zeigler and his own dog, Max, recreated Steinbeck’s route in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Steinbeck’s 1960 journey around the country. Travels With Max is an excellent companion text to Travels With Charley or any Steinbeck work, however, it is a pleasure to read on its own. 

About the Author

Gregory Zeigler, a career educator, has served as headmaster at several schools. He is a trustee for two independent schools. A life-long passion for communication, both written and spoken, has inspired Zeigler to pursue writing and acting. Zeigler has written an environmental mystery and has published numerous articles on historical and educational subjects. A popular public speaker, he has presented papers at national educational conferences throughout his career. Greg Zeigler has acted professionally on stage and in film, including appearing alongside NFL great Lynn Swann in an Instructional Television production, Arts Alive.

Travels With Max: In Search of Steinbeck’s America Fifty Years Later

By Gregory Zeigler

Pub: Blaine Creek Press

Pub Date: August 2010

ISBN: 9780615378039

$15.95 USD

The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation is recognizing excellence in literary achievement and advocacy in the inaugural Illumine award celebration. The honoree for Fiction is Mexican-American writer, Dagoberto Gilb. Dulce Bread & Book Shop would like to congratulate the mestizo author for his literary contributions to the cultural, ethnic genre.

APLFF Illumine [...]]]>

Dagoberto Gilb

The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation is recognizing excellence in literary achievement and advocacy in the inaugural Illumine award celebration. The honoree for Fiction is Mexican-American writer, Dagoberto Gilb. Dulce Bread & Book Shop would like to congratulate the mestizo author for his literary contributions to the cultural, ethnic genre.

APLFF Illumine 2011

Friday, November 18, 7-10 PM, Hilton Austin Downtown
Cocktails, silent auction, dinner and live music
Cocktail Attire
Individual tickets: $125
Table sponsorship levels: $5,000, $2,500, $1,250
For more information please call 542-0076 or email info@austinlibrary.org.
BUY TICKETS 

Inaugural Illumine honorees: 

Fiction Honoree: Dagoberto Gilb
Presented by: David Garza
Non-Fiction Honoree: Gregory Curtis
Presented by: Jake Silverstein
Emerging Author Honoree: Carrie Fountain
Presented by: James Magnuson, author
Songwriting Honoree: Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Presented by: Elyse Yates, Gilmore’s daughter
Luminary Award (Literary Patron Honoree): Marc Winkelman
Presented by: Joseph Skibell, author
 
Emcee: Jake Silverstein, editor of Texas Monthly

APLFF Honoree Bios

Dagoberto Gilb, Fiction Honoree
Dagoberto Gilb was born and raised in Los Angeles and lived as many years in El Paso. He now lives in Austin. Gilb’s books have won the PEN/Hemingway Award and have been finalists for the PEN Faulkner and National Book Critics Circle Award. He edited Hecho en Tejas: An Anthology of Texas Mexican Literature, the canonical volume of Texas Mexican literature, which won the Southwest Book Award for nonfiction. Anthologized widely, recipient of awards including a Guggenheim and Whiting, his fiction and nonfiction have appeared in a range of magazines including Harper’s, The New Yorker, and The Threepenny Review. Gilb spent most of his adult years as a construction worker and a journeyman, high-rise carpenter with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. Writer-in-residence at the University of Houston-Victoria, he is also the executive director of Centro Victoria: Center for Mexican American Literature and Culture. Dagoberto has a new book coming out next month, Before the End, After the Beginning. His other books include The Flowers, Gritos, Woodcuts of Women, The Last Known Residence of Mickey Acuna and The Magic of Blood. www.dagobertogilb.com

Gregory Curtis, Non-Fiction Honoree
Born in Corpus Christi, Texas and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Curtis came to Texas to attend Rice University then returned—after graduate school and a stint running a very small printing and publishing company in San Francisco—to be a writer on the staff of Texas Monthly from 1972 – 1981. He then served as editor of that magazine from 1981 – 2000, during which he won many prizes including five National Magazine Awards. In 2000 he was selected by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the ten best magazine editors in the country. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, Fortune, and Time. Curtis has written two books: Disarmed: The Story of Venus DeMilo and The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World’s First Artists. www.gregorycurtis.com

Carrie Fountain, Emerging Author Honoree
An American poet, Fountain is from Las Cruces, New Mexico. She was a fellow at the Michener Center for Writers, and received Swink Magazine’s Award for Emerging Writers and the Marlboro Poetry Prize. She wrote for the Texas Observer, and was poetry columnist for the Austin American-Statesman. Her work has appeared in Cimarron Review, Black Warrior Review, 32 Poems, and Missouri Review Online. She lives in Austin, Texas and teaches at St. Edward’s University. Works include: “Purple Heart”, Marlboro Review; “Burn Lake 2″, Swink, 2007; “Father and Son at the Mesilla Valley Drive-thru Bank”, AGNI; “Theory of Perfection”, AGNI; “El Camino Real 3 “, Poetry for Children. Carrie Fountain’s first book, Burn Lake, was published in 2010 by Penguin Books, as a National Poetry Series winner.

Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Songwriting Honoree
Gilmore is a native of the Texas Panhandle, having been born in Amarillo, Texas, and raised in Lubbock, Texas. His earliest musical influence was Hank Williams and the honky tonk brand of country music that his father played. In the 1950s, he was exposed to the emerging rock and roll of other Texans such as Roy Orbison and Lubbock native Buddy Holly, as well as to Johnny Cash. He was profoundly influenced in the 1960s by the likes of The Beatles and Bob Dylan and the folk music and blues revival in that decade. With Joe Ely and Butch Hancock, Gilmore founded The Flatlanders. The group has been performing on and off since 1972. Gilmore’s fans admire his tenor voice, which delivers expressive, pure, country-inflected singing. He has also been a guest on The Tonight Show, with host Jay Leno, the Late Show with David Letterman, Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion on NPR, and the Fresh Air radio program with Terry Gross. His career includes nine studio albums, and his talent heralded by such publications as Rolling Stone, Pulse!, New York Times, Salon, and Back Beat. www.jimmiegilmore.com, 

Marc Winkelman, Luminary Award Honoree (Literary Patron)
Marc Winkelman is an Austin businessman and philanthropist. He is the CEO and co-founder of specialty store chain Calendar Club, CEO and part owner of Kirkus Reviews (a longtime trade journal for the books and publications industry), and co-owns Tecolote Books in Montecito, Calif. In his early career Winkelman was a bookseller, running an independent bookstore in Michigan in the late 1970s and ’80s. He also worked for Barnes & Noble during the period the bookseller was transitioning to its “superstore” model. He serves on the board of the Texas Book Festival and the UT Press and is involved with St. David’s Foundation, the Elie Wiesel Foundation, and KLRU, among others. Founded in 1999, the Austin-based Calendars.com brings together the latest Internet technology with the world’s largest calendar inventory to create the Internet’s most comprehensive and respected calendar store.

Jake Silverstein, emcee
Author and editor Jake Silverstein was born in 1975 and raised in Oakland, California. He attended Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and also received degrees from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and the Michener Center for Writers, at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1999 he moved to Marfa, Texas, to write for the Big Bend Sentinel. In 2005 he became a Contributing Editor to Harper’s Magazine. His work has also appeared in the anthologies Best American Travel Writing 2003, The Thinking Fan’s Guide to the World Cup (2006); and Submersion Journalism (2008). He joined the staff of Texas Monthly as a senior editor in 2006 and later became the magazine’s fourth editor. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Mary, their two sons, Leo and Joe.

This is Dulce’s first book review of poems and micro stories and therefore thought it appropriate to write it in verse. However, after attempting to write a few poetic lines, it was clear that it was not as appropriate as originally intended. A bit of backstory… Nicole Carter initially contacted Dulce from [...]]]>

Nicole Carter

This is Dulce’s first book review of poems and micro stories and therefore thought it appropriate to write it in verse. However, after attempting to write a few poetic lines, it was clear that it was not as appropriate as originally intended. A bit of backstory… Nicole Carter initially contacted Dulce from Edinburgh, Scotland through Twitter. Nicole’s tweet was simple, “Interested in a few copies of my booklet, Mañana Attitude? There are two versions, the adult and the non-sweary version.” Our curiosity was stirred. “Hmmm, Scottish poetry, with mature content to boot. Sure!” So here’s a hint of Nicole Carter’s poetry and other thoughts. If your poetic curiosity wishes for more, the first five readers to leave a comment will receive their own copy.*

MAÑANA ATTITUDE arrived at the beginning of what was anticipated to be a lazy summer. Dulce was in the initial stages of a somewhat significant relocation and the mañana attitude had truly set in. The feeling that things could be held over until tomorrow was not new to us. In fact, we are founded on the Mexican tradition of a carefree existence. Why rush? Why worry? Perhaps because all these characteristics are universal and at some point in our human development we all experience phases that either make us or break us. So we pocketed our review copy to be read…, mañana.

A summer later, Dulce is looking for a light read, unpacks the moving bags and finds MAÑANA ATTITUDE. A work of poetry and micro stories, not to be considered light, that reflects on the physical, emotional, and intellectual experiences that form perspectives and attitudes. What an appropriate find after a long, tedious, challenging, tiresome, not-so-lazy summer. An autobiographical, poetic labor that provides its readers a connection with the Other, across a vast distance that is not so immense after all.

Consider the question that exists for one,  however true for many.

Family Life

I dip my toes into complete indulgence

Imagining luxury and independence

Is it wrong to be fearful of the possibilities that lie ahead?

Getting riled by unreasonableness

And retreating to my unmade bed

What other role can I live up to and emulate

Is eternal drudgery to be my fate?

Resolve to lead willfully and resolutely.   

 Advice

Don’t fight the thoughts

Feel comfortable with your fears

There is no past or future

And to save a lot of tears

Let calm be your suture

Say thanks to Buddha

Give just one bow

And in your own secular way

Stay “in the now”

One is never alone,  as there is always the Other.

Mañana Attitude

Poems and Short Stories

By Nicole Carter

Pub Date: 2010

*Remember to be one of the first five readers to leave a comment and receive a copy of Nicole Carter’s poetry booklet. Suerte!

Over at Mayra Calvani’s website, one of Dulce’s favorite Latina authors, the Halloween celebration has gotten off to an early, fanatical start. Mayra is celebrating the release of her new paranormal suspense novel, EMBRACED BY THE SHADOWS, by giving away two of her other ebooks. Yes, FREE! Readers have the [...]]]>

Twilight Times Books

Over at Mayra Calvani’s website, one of Dulce’s favorite Latina authors, the Halloween celebration has gotten off to an early, fanatical start. Mayra is celebrating the release of her new paranormal suspense novel, EMBRACED BY THE SHADOWS, by giving away two of her other ebooks. Yes, FREE! Readers have the opportunity to receive two of Mayra’s ebooks, DARK LULLABY and CAT CELLAR AND OTHER STORIES, with the purchase of her newly released title! Don’t lollygag and get some of the best Halloween e-treats!