CONTEST

Don’t forget to sign up for the January contest!  You have the chance to win a UCLA coffee mug in honor of BECOMING AMERICANA’s protagonist – Lupe’s University. 

BECOMING LATINA IN 10 EASY STEPS

Awesome, thrilling news!!!  Catalina Magazine has chosen BECOMING LATINA as one of the top 5 Latina books of 2006!  The readers voted and chose their favorites.  You can check out the web page: http://catalinamagazine.com/bookclub.php/?cat=2 for more info.

 BECOMING AMERICANA

Have you visited TheVibeKids.com?  If you’re curious about BECOMING AMERICANA and haven’t read it yet, this is a great site to become acquainted with the characters and story.

NEWS

Great article in the Press Enterprise!

http://www.pe.com/lifestyles/stories/PE_Fea_Daily_D_lararios0119.fdbf6d.html

Check it out!

2007 UPCOMING EVENTS

Would you like to chat in person? I'd love to meet you at any of the upcoming events!

February 10 at 2:00 p.m. - Book autographing -- Barnes & Noble, Riverside
                                       3485 Tyler Street, Riverside, CA 92503
                                       951-358-0898

March 28-31 -- PASIC Conference, New York City

On March 31^st I plan to hang out, have a drink, and relax at a NYC coffee shop (still to be selected – check next month’s newsletter for location) and enjoy meeting you.  So if you can, stop by and visit with me!  This will not be a book signing, only an opportunity for us to meet.  But of course, if you'd like me to autograph your books, feel free to bring them.  I will not have books to sell.

April 18 -- Ontario City Library, Ontario, CA (more info to come)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

You’d think that as a writer of relationships and romance that I would love Valentine’s Day.  But honestly, it has never been one of my favorite holidays.  I remember when I worked as a teacher how excited the kids got over Valentine’s Day.  They loved getting the little valentine cards.  And asked what they could bring for the party.  Party!  I thought.  I have to take time out of my teaching day for another party?  Didn’t we just do this for Christmas?  But it was a losing battle – the entire school went all out for Valentine’s Day. 

I’m a total romantic.  I love romance.  But I like unexpected, sweet expressions of love, not a day where a poor man is “forced” to buy some silly item to show that he loves you.  That doesn’t strike me as coming from the heart, so what’s the point?

So this month, I thought I’d do something fun where we could all interact.  Interested?  Okay, here’s my idea.  I’d like for everyone to share one romantic non-Valentine’s Day memory with me.  I’ll collect them all, and list them on my website for the month of February.  Then you can all read each other’s stories!

I’ll share one of mine:  One year when my husband and I were working a zillion hours, going to college, barely seeing each other, I came home for a quick dinner before heading back out to a class and found on my kitchen table, a large 8 X10 card of a man and woman hanging out of their car windows (she in her car, he in his) kissing.  On the inside my husband wrote how much he missed me, and that this card reminded him of our lives where we had to share fleeting kisses as we passed each other on our way to more important things.  And he asked me out on a date.  It was so sweet and romantic that I immediately called him and we agreed to put everything else on hold and spend some time together. 

CONTACT ME

Do you have questions or comments or do you just want to say "HI"? I'd love to talk to you. Email me at: lararios@earthlink.net I promise to get to your email within a day or two!

Until next month!

Much Love,

Lara Rios

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