Since entering the world of book publishing, marketing and sales, I’m now engaged in a daily battle of juggling priorities. My focus has become so scattered that I’ve fallen behind with my writing projects. Hopefully, I’ll come up soon with a new working schedule that would provide some balance and reduce my stress.

It’s not all bad, though. At our writers’ critique group meeting on September 4th, I presented a copy of my novel to the owner of Gloria’s Café. For the past five years, our group has been meeting once monthly at Gloria’s where we enjoy their Mexican and Salvadoran cuisine.

Rosaliene presenting copy of novel to Gloria, owner of Gloria’s Café
West Los Angeles – Southern California – September 4, 2019

 

My thanks go out to blogger, Larry “Dutch” Woller On The Path Least Traveled, for purchasing my novel.

Blogger Larry “Dutch” Woller
Photo Credit: On The Path Least Traveled Blog

 

More thanks go to the Iranian Canadian, award-winning author, Laleh Chini, for her five-star rating and review of my novel. Here’s her praise for Under the Tamarind Tree: A Novel on Amazon:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read.
October 1, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
What a great read dear Rosaline, well, of course, I wasn’t surprised after being your blog’s fan. You deserve the five stars indeed.
Lalehchini.com 

The eBook version of my novel, Under the Tamarind Tree, is now available at the following distribution outlets:

Rosaliene’s Store at Lulu

Amazon Kindle

Barnes & Noble Nook

Rakuten Kobo

I’m awaiting news from my publisher about the resolution of an issue preventing distribution to Apple’s iBookstore.

 

Photo Credit: Latino Book & Family Festivals

 

The month of September ended on a high note. At the invitation of our writers’ critique group leader, Dan McNay, author of four novels, I attended my first book fair as a debut author. The 2019 North San Diego Latino Book & Family Festival took place at the MiraCosta College Oceanside on Saturday, September 28th. As an accomplished folk singer and songwriter, Dan was invited to open the day’s festival with his upbeat music.

Considering that none of our books for sale shared the Latino experience, I decided to give away four poetry collections by Latino poets that I have featured on my Poetry Corner—Lisa Alvarado, José Olivarez, Jeannine M Pitas, and Javier Zamora.

A young woman was the first person to stop by at our table. She told me that she was just browsing. While chatting with her, I learned that she enjoyed writing poetry. I gave her Alvarado’s poetry collection, Raw Silk Suture, together with my promotional postcard for Under the Tamarind Tree. The next morning, I was surprised to find the following e-mail in my mailbox.

On Saturday, September 28, 2019, 9:35:04 PM PDT, Name of Sender <email address> wrote:

Good evening, Rosaliene.
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for talking with me at the book festival today. I read the copy of Raw Silk Suture gave me. I found myself quite emotional as I read, as I was able to relate to some of the poems. I look forward to reading Under the Tamarind Tree, in the coming weeks. I hope you enjoyed your time at the festival. Thank you so very much for everything!
-N. H.

The power of poetry! What joy!

The man who bought my novel—the only sale for the day—chose Olivarez’s collection, Citizen Illegal, as my bonus offer. I gave the two remaining collections to the authors, occupying the adjacent tables.

I may have sold only one book, but I had an enjoyable time connecting with authors and readers in the Latino community. A big thank you to my dear writing friend, Dan McNay, for making this day possible!