CONTEST

The winner of the January/February contest for the UCLA coffee mug was Shirley Baldwin!  Congratulations, Shirley!  Hope you enjoy drinking your morning coffee or tea from this nice blue cup.

This month I'm proud to offer an autographed copy of my friend Berta Plata's CINDERELLA LOPEZ.  I love reading books that people recommend, because I always find a new author I enjoy.  I thought you might, too.  You might already be familiar with Berta, but if you're not, you'll definitely want to sign up for the contest!  And even if you've read it, hey, this one is autographed!

BECOMING LATINA IN 10 EASY STEPS

BECOMING LATINA continues to strike a chord in readers!  Last month I shared with you that it was chosen as one of the top 5 Latina books of 2006 by Catalina Magazine!  LATINA won in the chica-lit category.  Well, this month I found out that BECOMING LATINA has also finaled in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.  Yay!  You've heard people say that it's great just to be nominated, and that's so true.  I'm thrilled to be selected along with so many other great books.  It's a real honor.  Winners will be announced at the end of March.  Keep your fingers crossed!

 BECOMING AMERICANA

I had a fun time chatting back and forth with a reader who was engrossed in reading BECOMING AMERICANA this week.  She was so cute.  Her first email said that BECOMING AMERICANA was my best book ever.  I returned the email to thank her.  A few hours later she sent another email to tell me how her reading was progressing.  At one point she said she was even reading in the tub, because she couldn't put the book down--which was way cool.  This continued back and forth until late that evening when I was working and she informed me she'd finished the book and gave me her reaction.

This was great!  As an author you don't always, well, you don't ever get to peek over a person's shoulder to see if they liked what you wrote.  You don't get to see people's reactions the way companies do when they form focus groups.  So this reader, who I'll call "C" offered me this rare chance, and I love it.  So, thanks "C!"

NEWS

Great news!  Amazon.com has accepted a short I wrote, and it will appear around April or early May on their site!  If you're not familiar with a short, it's a small piece--sort of like a short story or an article.  This one will be entitled How to Answer the 10 Most FAQ About Latinos.  When I wrote BECOMING LATINA, I brainstormed lots of stereotypes that never made it into the book either because they didn't further the story or I didn't feel they were funny enough.  So this short will have some of the "extras" I didn't get to address in the book.  It will be in a question and answer format where Marcela and Lupe answer the questions.  So if you didn't get enough of the girls, check this out.  Or if you haven't yet read the books, this makes a great preview of the characters, my writing style, and tone of the books.  Shorts only run $.49, so it's quite a deal.

2007 UPCOMING EVENTS

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

March 28-31 -- PASIC Conference, New York City
Millennium Broadway Hotel -- Bar and Lounge
6:30 p.m.

On March 31^st I plan to hang out, have a drink, and relax at the hotel bar where I'll be staying.   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 5 -- San Diego National Latina Business Women's Association
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

April 18 -- Ontario City Library, Ontario, CA
6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Contact the library for directions:  909-395-2225

May 9 -- Educating the Bilingual Student Conference
10:35 - 11:55 a.m.

Followed by autographing session

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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