Who you lookin' at?!

I have been entertaining some real characters...in my mind.  A few weeks ago I was struck with some novel ideas- literally!  I have this beautiful project percolating in my head like a wonderfully aromatic rich cup of coffee!  If only I drank coffee...so maybe it's a wonderful cup of hot cocoa! (With whipped cream, of course!)  Do any of you know what I mean?  Is it only writers, or do artists of any genre and medium allow the ideas of their next work to freely roam around in the crevices of their mind? 

I have gotten to know- or at least meet- the main characters of my novel.  I just don't know a whole lot about them...yet.  I have sketched some details and some faces, but nothing seems to be a sure fit.  Some have the attitude or personality, but I'm not able to see their physical appearance.  I am eager to begin this project, but I realize the details of each character are crucial to the story.  So, here I sit and wait with these new characters residing in my mind. 

This process can take some time, but I must admit that I love it!  I am constantly searching my surroundings for something to spark an idea.  By something, I mean people!  I am noticing the people around me and wondering if they resemble any of my characters.  Does the couple who is meeting for lunch in the park- pulling up in separate vehicles- look like my two main characters?  Or would the scorned husband and wife, that are completely unaware of this lunchtime rendezvous, be a better fit for the characters I'm looking to develop?  I notice the crying babies, tantrum-throwing toddlers, troubled teens, harried housewives, delusional dads, and other deliciously dangerous people I see cross my path.  With the Holiday shopping season upon us the malls are crowded making people-watching better than ever!

I read once that when writers go out to eat they can lightly listen to the person or people they are dining with, but they are inevitably scanning the restaurant for a conversation to listen in on.  This is not done for the sake of being nosey, but merely as a means of character and plot development.  We see a story in everything we hear and see.  When my husband read this article he laughed so hard and as he pointed at me he said, "Babe, that is exactly YOU!"

I have seen mugs and other memorabilia with the saying, "Be careful what you say because I just might put it in my novel!"  I like to extend that further by saying, be careful what you do to me or to others around me...!  Just kidding...or am I?

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
~the sol within~
       Anna

Give it a listen!  The music that inspired this post:
~Somebody's Watching Me by Rockwell
~I Heard it Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye
~Have You Seen Her by the Chi-Lites
~Just One Look by Doris Troy
~Shiny Happy People by REM
~Everyday People by Sly & the Family Stone

And the WINNER is...

Today was a long day with many unexpected twists and turns...and not all good!  So to cheer up my little one we wrote out the names of all entrants for yesterday's book giveaway of The HEARTBREAK PILL a Novel by Anjanette Delgado.  Before I announce the winner, I want to thank everyone who took the time to read the interview and leave a comment!  It is greatly appreciated!



 We were all so excited and gathered around to see who would be the lucky recipient!

And the WINNER is...

crafter, artist, painter CAROLYN FLORES of Flores Originals!

Last Chance to enter to win a copy of The Heartbreak Pill!

This is the LAST CHANCE to leave a comment for a chance to win a signed copy of The Heartbreak Pill by Anjanette Delgado.  Leave a comment on the interview post below for your chance.  Contest ends at MIDNIGHT Pacific time.  The winner will be announced here tomorrow!

A BIG Thanks to everyone who stopped by to check out my interview with author Anjanette Delgado featuring her debut novel, The Heartbreak Pill.  I hope you enjoyed it and it sparked an interest in picking up a copy of this novel to see just how Ericka Luna will get over her heartbreak after discovering her husband's affair!

If you enjoyed today and would like to read more about Anjanette Delgado or her novel, The Heartbreak Pill, you can continue to follow the Latino Virtual Book Tour.  The schedule is as follows:

Nov. 12  Host~Mayra Calvani     http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner

Nov. 13  Host~Teri                     http://right2right.blogspot.com/

Nov. 16  Host~Misa Ramirez      http://chasingheroes.com/

Nov. 17  Host~Nilki Benitez        http://nilkibenitez.blogspot.com/

Nov. 18  Host~Monie Garcia      http://www.readingwithmonie.com/

Nov. 19  Host~Vanessa Torres   http://thathappenedtome.blogspot.com/

Nov. 20  Host~Icess Fernandez  http://www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com/

Thank you for supporting me today with my very first blog tour and interview.  I had a great time!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
~the sol within~
Anna

Welcome, Anjanette Delgado and her debut novel...The Heartbreak Pill!

The BIG day is here...my chance to feature author Anjanette Delgado and her debut novel,
The Heartbreak Pill.

Author's Bio:
Anjanette Delgado is a writer and television producer living in Miami.
She began her career as a journalist, working for NBC, CNN, Univisión and Telemundo, covering presidential coups, elections, Olympics, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, both Iraq wars; which she executive produced, and won an Emmy in 1994 for her human-interest series “Madres en la lejanía,” about the plight of Latino mothers who leave their own children behind and come to the United States to work as undocumented nannies.

She has written for Urban Latino, TV Más and the International Documentary Association magazine, written and produced lifestyle programs and documentaries for MGM Latin America and in 2002, wrote and developed the sitcom “Great in Bed” for HBO Latin America.

The Heartbreak Pill is her first novel and was published by Simon & Schuster in 2008 and won that year’s International Latino Book Award for Best Romance Novel in English. The novel’s Spanish-Language version, La Pildora del Mal Amor, is just out, also from Simon and Schuster. Anjanette is currently at work on her second novel, titled, The Clairvoyant of Calle Ocho.


From HCN Website:
Anjanette, a Puerto Rico native, has applied her expertise to creating community-driven and empowering broadcast, print and event-based efforts for Latinos in the US. Prior to joining Grupo Prisa’s Plural Entertainment as Director of Strategic Content, Anjanette created, launched and implemented the social content and strategic marketing department of Community Connections at Telemundo, winning the first ever Sentinel for Health Awards ever given to a Spanish-language network or station for her campaigns on Breast Cancer and Diabetes. Anjanette has now added one more communications challenge to her breadth of experience by publishing her first novel.

Please sit back and enjoy the following as The Sol Within Anna welcomes accomplished Latina and now novelist, Anjanette Delgado. Don't forget to leave a comment or question for Anjanette Delgado as she will be available to reply to the readers. Sign up to be a follower of The Sol Within, leave a comment and your name will be entered into a drawing where one lucky follower will win an autographed copy of The Heartbreak Pill. Good luck!

                                               * * * * *
Anna: What made you choose The Heartbreak Pill as your debut novel? Was this a story that had been residing within your soul for a long time?


Anjanette: Yes… there was no other story I wanted to tell. It seemed to me that no one really understood “what becomes of the broken-hearted.” How this sense of loss can take your life over like the flu.


Anna: I have always been advised to "write what you know", what part of your novel, The Heartbreak Pill, would that advice hold true for you- what were the personal aspects which enabled you to write about what you know?


Anjanette: Well, I wrote about heartbreak, divorce and Miami… all things I know very well.
But I also wrote about what I didn’t know at the time: science, drugs, the brain, forgiveness.


Anna: What do you think about the label "Chica Lit.", as a Latina author are you offended by it or do you embrace it?

Anjanette: Well, first, a little history. The original term… Chick-Lit is really a post-feminist term to describe contemporary women’s fiction that dealt with women’s issues with self-deprecating humor. It came about because our roles as women were changing so much… that we needed that friend (character) to let us know it was okay to consider divorce if things had become unbearable… that we weren’t the only ones being cheated on, etc.


So, in that sense, I embrace it; have no problem with it.


The problem is when people start calling anything with high heels, a lipstick or a fancy pocketbook in the cover, Chick-Lit. Especially, if a lot of books with the same formula start coming out and receiving that label. You know… girl has awful boss and boyfriend who won’t commit… but then she triumphs and is promoted to book or magazine editor and begins to date the director of photography who happens to be hot and has been interested in her forever. See, well, that’s where I have a problem.


I’m not sure that Chica-Lit as a term was born of an understanding of the post-feminist history of the concept, as opposed to a great way to market a conference... or a section inside a bookstore.


One of the blurbs in my book is from a Columbia University professor who called it Latino Pop Fiction… which I think fits my novel well, too. In the end, I don’t get upset about this or that term… I just try to write something that women like me will be comforted and entertained by, something that makes them think and consider the choices my characters make as they relate to their own lives.


Anna: Of all of your hard work and many accomplishments with CNN, NBC, Telemundo, HBO, MGM Latin America, and the UN, just to name a few, as well as your own personal triumphs, how did all of that compare to the moment when you held your completed and published novel in your hands for the first time? Where were you?


Anjanette: You know… I felt nothing? Publishing day arrives… April 1st… nothing. Then about 6 weeks later, I get an email from a woman I didn’t know at all. She had tracked me down (my website wasn’t up back then) to tell me she had cried and laughed and felt like she knew me after reading my book. That’s the day I felt like an author… like all had been worth it. I have gotten other such emails. I save them all. Reread them all the time. I thought about my readers before they existed. I loved them, writing one more page, in case they ever read it. And now, it’s an amazing feeling when I get to meet them, connect, know that I reached them after all.


Anna: Over the past six months I have met some wonderful women aspiring to become published writers; some single, married, divorced, some mothers, some know, all too well, the heartbreak and betrayal you write about your character, Erika Luna, enduring. As these women try to enter a new world in search of becoming published authors, what words of inspiration can you share with them?


Anjanette: SIT. YOUR. BUTT. DOWN….and do not get up until you’ve written 3 pages (if it’s every day) or 10 pages (if you can only afford to write on Sundays.


That’s it… write. Read. Write. Read. Think of your reader, not of yourself. Enjoy your book before it’s born. It will happen. Write. Read.


Anna: I read on your website that your favorite quote is "When you're going through hell, keep going," by Winston Churchill. What meaning or impact has this quote had in your life?


Anjanette: It’s another way to say hope. If you stay still when you’re in hell, you’ll never get out. If you trust, and you keep going, there’s hope that things will be better. But you’ve got to keep going. I remind myself of this all the time.


Ms. Anjanette Delgado, I greatly appreciate your time with me and for making The Sol Within a stop on your Virtual Blog Tour. I wish you all the best with your debut novel, The Heartbreak Pill.


~Anna Rodriguez


Thank you Anna. I wish all bloggers/journalists/writers took the time to do their homework as you have. I loved your questions and am honored to be featured on your site.


Un abrazo ,
Anja

Followers: Don't forget to leave your comment or question for your chance to win an autographed copy of Anjanette Delgado's debut novel. The winner will be announced Thursday, Nov. 12th. If you don't win...no worries, just click on the button below to purchase your copy from Amazon today...or as a great Holiday gift!

I must give a tremendous "Thank You" to author and Editor, Jo Ann Hernandez of Bronzeword Latino for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful event, the Latino Virtual Book Tour, and for introducing me to such a wonderful Latina author and person...Anjanette Delgado!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!

~the sol within~
Anna
  

ISBN: 1-7432-9753-9

The FINAL COUNTDOWN

It's been quite some time since my last post, but I have been busy and I am very excited about all the things that I've been up to.  For example, I was a guest on someone else's blog.  I will give more details about this article later this week. 

I have been writing like crazy...a new children's book, a YA novel, and I am working on an outline for another novel. 

I have also been working on hosting my very first Latino Virtual Book Tour.  Author and Editor, Jo Ann Hernandez of Bronzeword Latino, sets these tours up and included me this time around.  I am thrilled, excited, and can hardly wait to host the author of The Heartbreak Pill, Anjanette Delgado.  This is her debut novel which is set in Miami.

Anjanette Delgado will be around tomorrow to answer your questions, so please leave comments or questions for her.  My interview with Anjanette Delgado is...WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11th.
Please don't forget to stop by and check out our discussion!

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so!
The sol within
~Anna~

Give it a listen!  The music that inspired this post:
~The Final Countdown by Europe

There's Always a Rainbow After the Storm!

The week might not have started out well, but I found my rainbow after the storm!  Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when the rainbow started to make itself visible to me in the form of a brown UPS delivery uniform.  Back on September 23, 2009 I received an email from author and blogger Mayra Calvani.  She had held a book giveaway, sponsored by Hachette Book Group, for Hispanic Heritage Month.  I entered and I won!  I won not one or two or even three books, but five! 

Mayra Calvani has given me a bigger gift than I originally expected.  I was so thrilled when I received word that I won!  I haven't won anything since a Christmas poster that my teacher raffled off back in the fourth grade!  No kidding!  Oh, how I was so excited the morning I opened my email and read the words: "Hey, Anna!  You won the Hispanic Month Book Giveaway! Congrats!"  It felt like fourth grade all over again.  I immediately phoned my husband and shared my good news! 

I waited, waited, waited, still no books.  I knew that several other writers were holding similar contests sponsored by Hachette and therefore, I figured they'd wait for all winners to be declared before sending out the fabulous prizes!  So, I resigned to wait some more as patiently as I could.  Then, projects, family, stress and unfortunate and unforeseen drama began to occupy my thoughts. 

So when the books finally arrived this week, I realized that I had no longer focused on them daily and in fact was allowing myself to focus on junk that was draining the creativity and love from within my soul!  I needed something great this week.  This was it!  I received a comment to my previous post that affirmed for me that someone somewhere can relate to my words and may need to read them at the right moment in their journey.  As a writer, I don't only want to entertain, but to inspire others as well!  I love when I am so enthralled with a book that I forget where I am, what day it is, what may be going on in my life, or that I am reading fiction- really good fiction!  I appreciate the efforts all writers make in creating their art to be enjoyed by others.  Writing is hard.  It is a time-consuming process, but most of those who do write do so because they feel so passionate about it.  That's why I say when I come across a book that stays in my soul well after I've finished reading the last page...I feel a debt of gratitude to the author.

Therefore, receiving these five books this week, in particular, has encouraged me to continue with my dream!  Maybe one day it'll be my book that another aspiring writer will have won and will receive at a crucial moment in his or her life.  Yeah, that's a pretty darn good aspiration!  For now, I send a heartfelt "Gracias" to Mayra Calvani for she has gifted me twice...back in September and again this week when I thought I might lose faith in the kindness of others!

I had not heard about all of the books prior to winning them.  I did have Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz by Belinda Acosta on my must read list, so I am thrilled that it was included in the prize package.  I have read some info about the other books and was excited to learn that one is basically about getting active/losing weight Latino style! 

Hacking, cutting, slicing, and tearing into the Hachette Book Group box was like being a kid and breaking the pinata to discover that "Yes, it was filled with the GOOD candy!"  Thank you, Hachette Book Group!

Stay tuned as I read each of these Latino treats and let you all know what I really think! ;)

Wishing you dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so! 

(Oh yeah, and really good books too!)

~the sol within~

Anna

Give it a listen!  The song that inspired this post:

~You Can't Always Get What You Want

("But if you try sometimes, well you might find you get what you need!") by The Rolling Stones

When it rains...it pours!

So, my week began completely unexpectedly.  I must say that I never meant to use this blog as a personal diary to dish out the details of my life, but after much consideration and thought, I will discuss something very personal in this post.  I am a writer, although I have not had anything published yet, I am still a writer.  I took a major leap this summer into following my dream of becoming a successfully published author.  I have written several children's books and have a novel that I am working on.  I have just recently met many of the authors, some via the internet and some in-person, that I have come to admire!  Some have been incredibly supportive, others (more like one) has been a little diva-ish.  BUT, I persevered.  I continued to drum up the courage needed to "network" to meet people in the business and in-the-know of all things writing and publishing.  I thought I even made a friend along the way in a fellow aspiring writer. 

Have you ever been so betrayed in your past that you didn't think you could ever trust again, but you did anyway?  Yeah, that is me!  I allowed myself to trust someone that really seemed to care about my journey as a writer and before I knew it, it became a friendship, or so I thought!  We would email -sometimes several times a day- about our lives.  And it all began because of our similar love of writing.  I cannot express enough how much I cared for this person as a writer, friend, and fellow human!  This person shared some details of their life and work with me and I even gave detailed ideas on how they could pursue seeking the "right" people to help see their dream work become a reality.  Sometimes I gave more attention to their plans or the possibility for a collaboration with them than I did to my own personal work.  I was sending them ideas left and right and was so excited about the possibilities!  There was something in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it.  Damn!  I wanted so much to see that this person really did care.  My entire family knew of my relationship with this person and recently I was even requesting some of them to help create some artwork for a collaboration that I was working on with this person -or so I thought. 

I woke up Monday morning to an email from this person and it hit me like a sucker punch to the gut!  They decided that we are no longer friends, collaborating, or communicating.  I sent an email asking if what I was reading was correct.  I guess I missed the fight or something.  I did not hear back.  Last I knew, we were looking forward to our friendship growing and working together! It sucks because I knew better than to trust, but I did!  I saw what I thought was another beautiful writer and I wanted so much to believe that they were as real as I am.  Toward the end, I ingnored the red flags and kept sending my ideas and kept trying to invest in a friendship...I knew I was alone, but I did not want to see it! 

After the initial shock, tear drop, and confusion I got myself together and drove my children to school.  I was just about to leave the last school when I noticed several missed calls on my cell.  I saw that one was from my mom so I called her and learned that her cousin had just died.  She was my moms age and had a daughter only two years older than me.  They live in the Northwest and throughout our high school years we were pen pals.  She and I wrote to one another several times a week.  I recently came across her letters and remembered how much I looked forward to hearing about her life in Washington.  Now, my heart breaks for her and her children...I just can't imagine the sadness they are enduring at this time. 

Out of the blue...we had a down pour here.  It rained and rained and rained!  This particular day, I felt the rain was extremely poignant.  I had to go to my former high school in the early evening and was able to be outside in the downpour.  At one point I was able to close my eyes and recall better days as the cool rain bounced across my face.  I saw new faces and recognized many others from my high school days.  I also met up with my parents and saw the sadness in my mom's face as she recalled her youthful days running around the streets of Washington with her cousin.

This day was also the birthday of someone very special to me.  We ended the long, crazy, rainy day by quietly celebrating this special day.  It was an awful lot of emotion for one day, but I found some strength within this soul to continue on hour by hour.  We've had a lot of stress lately, but who hasn't, right?  I always think that everyone has something they are enduring.

So, I send blessings to my family, especially my cousin as she finds her strength within to kiss her mom goodbye for the final time.

I send birthday blessings to my special someone and wish them wonderful things this year!

I also send blessings to the person that has hurt me!  Don't get me wrong, I have already gone through all the stages...hurt, confusion, anger (lots!), and sadness.  But, I'm happy to know now that I didn't mean anything to them if it was so easy to toss me and our friendship aside!  I trusted someone and I don't know if I can do that again.  I have something to learn here and I am trying to see that.  I guess I can say that I can send this person wishes of blessings because they didn't know that they were going to add pain to a day that was going to be impacted by other more important family matters.  Maybe they don't even see that what they did is wrong.  I realize that some people are so business-minded that they do whatever it takes to get ahead, but that is sad to me.  More than anything I feel duped!  Duped out of my creativity, my ideas, my time, and my true friendship...and that stinks!

"Cherish your friends 'cause they don't come that often and when they do they're worth keeping." I heard Whoopi Goldberg say this on the View today and I thought, Wow...what timing!

Wishing you all dreams to fulfill and the inspiration needed to do so.  I also wish you true friendship in your life and people appreciative enough to care for your gift of friendship! 

~the sol within~
Anna

Give it a listen.  The songs that inspired this post:
~Friends by Whodini
~People Are People by Depeche Mode
~Nothing Else Matters by Metallica
~Blue Monday by New Order
~Joy 'n' Pain by Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock
~The Power by Snap!
~Shout by Tears for Fears
Especially for my mama and for my cousin...
~My Girl by The Temptations
~A Song for Mama by Boyz II Men