A guest bearing a GIFT!

I ™m filling in for Holly today–because she invited me, and also because I ™m positive that she needs a break. She has to! Look at all she does. This blog, Burbmom.net, raising kids, wife…the list goes on and on. So I ™m providing the break, and though I know you ™ll miss her, I hope you ™ll forgive her for the hiatus and read my little story. There's also the added benefit that I ™m giving away a prize! Now, that's motivation, isn't it, because everyone loves free things? Here we go… Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved books. She loved writing. Crazy, I know, but she actually enjoyed essay assignments and treasures a paper she earned an A- on because the professor wrote on it that she should never change her captivating writing style. Book Nerd, that's her. This girl grew up to be a woman, earned her teaching credential [in English, of course], fell in love, got married, had a career as a teacher, had kids [2], became pregnant again and was rapidly losing her hair from trying to juggle…er…life. She moved with her growing family from the Sacramento Valley to the San Francisco Bay Area and spent the next six months in a rental house, trying to hold down the food that just wanted to creep back up her esophagus, killing the swarming ants that just wouldn't go away, and taking care of her boys while her husband's career blossomed. She began to write…just to keep her sanity. But, again, as it tends to do, life marched on despite the vomiting and ants. A third boy was born, and though the woman was hailed as a ˜pura mujer ™ by her grandmother-in-law because she had birthed so many boys–and we all know how much more valuable and honored boys are over girls, right? [Argh! Don't get me started…]– writing took a back burner in the woman's life. The family bought a house in a different Bay Area city and moved, time passed, and finally the woman sold a children's story. It became a book, and then she had another baby–this time–gasp–a girl. Her reputation as a ˜real woman ™ faltered [only slightly], but she kept writing, and the family tried to put down some roots. Only they didn't. Life intervened again. They ended up going back to that appealingly HOT Sacramento Valley. One thing led to another and–well–they had one more child. A fourth boy. The woman's ˜pura mujer ™ status was firmly in place again, but alas, her hair was thinning and she was rapidly losing grey matter with each passing day. Her brain was turning to mush. Again, she tried to find balance. She started writing again, but sadly, with her daily life surrounded by children, she was drained and, as they say, had lost her muse. She found she didn't want to write children's stories. No. She wanted to write about adults! About people who swore occasionally [but only in Spanish, and only when pushed to the very limit]! Mystery! Sex! Thus her fictional alter-ego was born. And she was called: Dolores ˜Lola ™ Cruz. Lola is who this woman would have been had she been born Latina. With a crazy desire to be a private investigator [and an even crazier family]. If she was sexy. Sassy. A black belt in kung fu. It took six years from writing the first word to publication [did I say the book was released today?]. It took writing in the wee hours of the morning. It took understanding from her family. It took more balance than she ™d ever thought possible when she started teaching again, had her five kids to carpool around, and wrote during every possible stolen moment. It took a move from California to Cowboy-land [aka Texas] so that she could write full time and the family could still maintain their quality of life. And now, on the day of her book release, she's realized that she's many things: A woman. A mom. A wife. A teacher. A daughter. A friend. And an author. Finally! She persevered. She held true to her dreams. She modeled these things for her children. And her second career was realized. And, thankfully, she still has hair. The End And now, here's the really good part… One lucky commenter will be randomly chosen to win a copy of this woman's book! All you have to do is tell us all what your very favorite book is? The one you escape to when you're in that ˜Calgon, take me away ™ moment. Also, be sure to stop by MisaRamirez.com to enter the February contest to win other fun prizes [of course for those, you have to buy and read Living the Vida Lola, but it's a really fun book, so go ahead and indulge!]. Note from Holly: Ya’ll know I can’t stay away… Misa Ramirez’s debut novel Living the Vida Lola is being released TODAY, January 20th. So… Leave a comment naming your favorite book to win a copy OR go buy it today!