My Book Has Arrived: Enter the Drawing

Yesterday, I received my copies of Entre la claridad, and I am so happy to have my new book in my hands.  This also means I can give one away to you, so please read on about how to participate in the drawing to win your very own copy.

This time, there are multiple ways to enter, which means you can have multiple entries.  Someone in my family will draw the winning name on the evening of Tuesday, December 27, so even if you are super busy this Advent and Christmas season, you have time to enter.  

In case you have missed my earlier posts, this book is my second chapbook of poetry, an achievement that has taken me ten years to realize.  Of course, I have not been writing the book for all of those ten years; I took time away from my writing career to marry and start a family.  While the delay was certainly worth all the rewards of married and family life, I am grateful that I now have some time to devote to writing again.

Early this year, I made a commitment to write at least once a week, and after I was asked by a friend to submit to Mouthfeel Press, many of those weeks were devoted to choosing poems to appear in the book, placing them in order, revising the poems, choosing a title, and reconsidering which poems should be in the book.  Then I sent the manuscript to Mouthfeel, and waited for a response.  Seeing the book in print is a lovely reward for my writing efforts this past year.

For those of you unfamiliar with poetry, a chapbook is a small book, so reading a chapbook is a good way to familiarize yourself with poetry in general, or a particular poet.  My chapbook contains twenty poems, mostly about my and my family’s experiences living in South Texas, a border community with a culture enriched by two languages, two cultures, and a strong sense of family history.

Here is what a few others have to say about the poems:

“One lives in the zone of clarity when one lives in two worlds, versus living in one culture where there is only one set of ideas/beliefs instilled...When one lives entre la claridad, one lives a full life of various experiences as noted in your poetry collection-- so much richer, open and wide. Here, there are no boundaries or border or mapas.”       —Maria M.

“I loved your poems with the mixture of English and Spanish and hearing about the letters your parents wrote each other.  Funny now to think that your grandmother thought her daughter moving to Dallas was not a good idea.  Really lovely work and words.”          —Beverly M.

If you have read either of my chapbooks, heard me read in person, or listened to the radio broadcasts (listen to the archives here), let me know what you think.  I would like to post a round-up of comments in the future.  I may even host a future drawing especially for those who write a short review about my poetry!

There are multiple ways to enter this week’s drawing, so you can enter more than once.  The key to each of them is to let me know after you have completed the action(s) requested below that you wish to enter the drawing.  Just leave a comment, or send an e-mail.

• Follow this blog using the blue button in the left sidebar, or by subscribing via e-mail at the top of the right sidebar.  New followers or subscribers get two entries!
• Announce the book on the social media platform of your choice.  The easiest way to do this is to use the Facebook, twitter, or Google Plus One buttons at the bottom of this post or in the right sidebar.  Or, get creative.  My publisher quoted from the end of this blog post when she posted a link to the blog with a picture of the book on Facebook.
• Like the Entre la claridad page on Facebook.  

If you already follow or subscribe to this blog, have announced the book on social media, or have liked the FB page, all you have to do to enter is tell me you want to participate in the drawing!

Here is another teaser from the book, to build your interest.  You can read a teaser from the first poem in the book here, and from the second poem in the book here.  These lines are from “Aguacate,” a poem in the middle section of the book:

Slippery flesh that melts in my mouth,

yellow green color of new leaves,

when I squeeze your oval body

after slicing you in half,

your insides chunk off

the smooth underside of your skin,

If you want to buy Entre la claridad, it is available for $7.00 from Mouthfeel Press.  Take a look at the other books from the press while you are there; you’ll see a selection of books by innovative and talented poets.  

Also, my poem “Bat Bridge” is included in the new collection of poems about the sacred by Mutabilis Press, Improbable Worlds.  Reading an anthology is another good way to familiarize yourself with poetry.  You can read about and buy that book here.