Si, Se Puede--Yes, you can!

1.  School started on Tuesday.  Son is now a ninth grader! This is his last year being homeschooled as he wants to go to regular high school and try out for the football team.  Right now we need to concentrate on some things and then that means I can be a full-time writer again next year! YAY! 2. The whole Trump thing has really been getting to me big time.  I'm very proud of my Mexican heritage.  My bisabuela's family were migrant workers from outside of Sonora, Mexico.  No, they weren't citizens.  And no, Mr. Trump, they weren't murderers or worse. Someone told me I shouldn't let it get to me or worse, not say anything, but I vowed to myself after a terrible experience I had back in college, that I would never not stand up whenever racism was happening. And I do open my mouth and voice my concerns. Actress America Ferrera nailed it: 3. Finished reading the sequel to KILLER OF ENEMIES from Tu Books. My YA Books Central revie...

1. This is the last week before school starts up again!  Waiting for other charter school high school teachers to post their syllabuses up on Canvas so I can put together son's Fall semester planner.  Hoping they don't wait until the day before school. 2. Speaking of school, I know that TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD was on his 9th grade reading list so I had him read it this summer(which means he waited till this week to start it).  Well, I just got ELA teacher's pacing guide which lists MICE AND MEN as the first book to read. Ugh.  **It would have been nice to get that this summer!  Oh, well! My reads this week are filled with diverse protagonists!  LOVE! 3. Right now reading TRAIL OF THE DEAD.  Think Native America protagonist meets MAD MAX.  Loved the first book in this series--KILLER OF ENEMIES.  The voice is authentic and the author NAILS weaving in Native American legends/folktales without it being story dump! ...

1. Went to doctor to check a suspicious looking mole on my back only to find out it's really a skin condition called  seborrheic keratosis that   is a type of benign (noncancerous) raised growth on the skin. Seborrheic means greasy (often the growth is not greasy). Keratosis means thickening of skin.    **Taken from  http://www.lifescript.com/health/a-z/conditions_a-z/conditions/s/seborrheic_keratosis.aspx Needless to say I was relieved it wasn't in fact skin cancer.  Doctor removed so now my back is itchy and sore but like I mentioned before, it could have been so much worse. Another reason why to check yearly to see if you have any changes of your skin.  Prevention is the key! 2. Been kind of lazy this week.  Maybe because in less than two weeks, school starts up again.  Ugh.  At least I don't have to teach most of the subjects as other teachers will doing that.  The only big concern we have is if that one girl that son had ...

1. Can't believe summer is winding down.  First day of classes starts on the 25th.  Hoping this will be a good year!  Also hope son can do well enough to transition over to a public high school next year.  Here's hoping! 2. Just finished reading: My YA Books Central link: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/18608-the-dead-girls-of-hysteria-hall Teaser: Intriguing characters set in a haunted asylum with secrets! 3. This one caught my eye as it's a spin on the Les Miserables story only told in the POV of Eponine. 4. Excited about this novel: I have to giggle a little remembering the numerous comments I got when I queried NO MORE GODDESSES and how some told me that no teen, or anyone else for that matter, was interested in a protagonist who loved Audrey Hepburn. Here's yet another novel with a character who not only loves AH but is an actress cast to do a reenactment of ROMAN HOLIDAY. ...

I'm really excited to be a part of Heidi Kling's PAINT MY BODY RED cover reveal!!!! I'm a huge fan of Heidi and can't wait for her latest. Okay, ready for the reveal? * ** *** ***** Here you go! Paint My Body Red by  Heidi R. Kling Release Date: 11/02/15 Entangled Teen Summary from Goodreads: They think I'll be number seven. Unlucky number seven. Dead teenager number seven. With the rash of suicides at my school, I've been shipped off to my dad's Wyoming ranch for “my own safety.” My mom worries I'll be next—another depressed teenager whose blood will end up on the train tracks. But she doesn't know my secrets...or what I did. Everything has changed at the ranch since I was there last. The staff is gone, and there aren’t any visitors. The place is struggling, and ALS is destroying my dad. The one bright spot in this mess is his new—and only—ranch hand, Jake. He’s g...