“Tears for Llorona” was performed in November at the Hispanic Cultural Center in Nampa, Idaho. The play was written and directed by Patricia Marcantonio and is a retelling of the old Mexican ghost story about a creature who roams the night looking for her lost children. The performance was funded by a grant from the Alexa Rose Foundation and with support from the Hispanic Cultural Center.
It was also made possible by the efforts of many including the cast, crew, and center volunteers.
From time to time I share family recipes. Check out the recipe page for my Latina take on chicken soup, especially inviting during the winter. You’ll also find some of my other family recipes from tamales to salsa.
Enjoy.
My family and friends know I love movies, I mean love.
Once my sister Sylvia–also a movie fan–asked me to list my 100 favorites and I came up with more than that.
While many of us are isolated, I wanted to share some of these and why I love them. Some are well known, others not so much. I hope you enjoy these suggestions and check them out so you can add them to your list.
I’ll start with “A Face in the Crowd” (1957)
A still relevant story about the power of media to sell politicians like products. Andy Griffith, better known as the kindly TV sheriff, stars as a country bum turned media star megalomaniac and he’s mesmerizing. (forgive the alliteration.) The great cast includes Patricia Neal and Walter Matthau in a serious role. Directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. Still disturbing. Still very entertaining.
Amazon has selected FELICITY CARROL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE and FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT for Kindle Monthly Deals priced at $2.99 and $1.99 through January.
Enjoy a good murder!
FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT : Amidst the heraldry of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee celebrations, a string of brutal murders rocks Britain’s upper crust—and could threaten the realm itself
“Marcantonio brings her characters to life through vivid storytelling [and] really does an excellent job of keeping her protagonist one step ahead of the reader.”—New York Journal of Books
FELICITY CARROL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE: Heiress and amateur detective Felicity Carrol makes a perilous journey to apprehend a notorious murderer who has terrorized England–and now continues his vicious killing spree across the pond.
“Felicity retains her feisty spirit and wit and once again has to battle for acceptance and credibility in a male-dominated society. Readers will look forward to her next adventure.”
—Library Journal
Enjoy a mystery this holiday season. FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT ebook is on sale for $1.99 all through December.
Felicity Carrol is interested in everything—except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, she took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money.
Felicity has other ambitions—but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen. Tapping into her photographic memory and the latest in the burgeoning field of forensic detection, Felicity launches an investigation. Handsome Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies is also on the case, and finds Felicity as meddlesome as she is intelligent. But when more nobles are murdered and their King Arthur relics stolen, Felicity must journey on her own into the dark underworld of antiquity theft, where she uncovers a motive far more nefarious than simple profit.
As the killer sets his sights on a new victim—a charismatic duke who has captured Felicity’s imagination—the stakes rise to impossible heights. It’s a case that could shake the kingdom.
“Marcantonio brings her characters to life through vivid storytelling [and] really does an excellent job of keeping her protagonist one step ahead of the reader.”
—New York Journal of Books
“[Felicity] is a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones..”
—Historical Novels Review
“A must read. It has it all, an intelligent heroine, a compelling plot and plenty of Victorian atmosphere to keep you entertained to the very last page.”
—Emily Brightwell, New York Times bestselling author of the Mrs. Jefferies mysteries
Thank you to the Idaho Writers Guild for the profile.
Ever since my parents told me the Llorona story, I’ve been fascinated with the scary tale. My original play, “Tears for Llorona” is a retelling of the traditional Hispanic story of the creature who searches the night for her lost children but I added a modern touch to link old and new. The play was performed Nov. 1 at the Hispanic Cultural Center, thanks to a grant from the Alexa Rose Foundation and support of the center. Thanks to Radio Boise, the radio play version was aired Nov. 2.
Cast members include Abi Mondragon, Maria Theresa Alvarado, Diana Rivera, Antonio Hernandez, Graciela Fonseca, Elizabeth Mondragon, Gabrielle Marcantonio, Jessica Mondragon, Mary Morris and Raymond Fonseca.
FELICITY CARROL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE: A Felicity Carrol Mystery eBook is on sale for $2.99 through the month of November.
Felicity Carrol has found her calling—solving unsolvable murders using the latest forensic methods. The brilliant and eccentric heiress learns the infamous Jack the Ripper might be terrorizing an American mining town and she decides to investigate. In Placer, Montana, her first obstacle is a handsome lawman who uses his intuition as much as his Colt to keep law and order in this wild town. When the murderer strikes again, she begins to suspect the worst. Felicity sets out to find the killer in a town full of secrets, shadows, and suspects, but as the body count rises, this intrepid sleuth faces her most dangerous adversary yet–and discovers that not all killers are as they seem.
“This colorful, action-filled mystery presents a novel twist.”
—Kirkus Reviews
The $1.99 ebook sale of FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT continues until Oct. 31.
Enjoy this sample
Surrey, England
1887
“Everyone, please take shelter behind the hedges,” Felicity Carrol announced.
Her homemade bomb was about to explode.
The dozen servants obeyed without hesitation. It was nearly ten at night, and they had already rescued what furniture and art they could from the east wing before Felicity told them to leave the rest to the flames. With help, she had first rescued the chemicals and scientific equipment from her laboratory, which was the source of the fire currently consuming the house.
When Felicity determined that the blaze could not be contained and would spread, she came up with a plan to save the rest of Carrol Manor. In the kitchen, she combined the perfect amounts of glycerin with nitric and sulfuric acids. She added torn paper and porridge oats to absorb the unstable mixture. With cautious movements, she packed the volatile paste into an Italian ceramic urn she had always disliked. As she did so, she reviewed the formula in her mind. Many times, pride in her knowledge and abilities suppressed any doubt about her experiments. She loathed that aspect of her personality—taking pleasure in what she could accomplish. For instance, she would bet no other young woman in England, well, in all of Surrey anyway, was capable of constructing a bomb in their kitchen. Despite the delicate work, Felicity wanted to laugh. Besides herself, what young woman would even want to pack an urn with dynamite?
_________________________
An English lord is murdered at the British Museum. Scotland Yard believes he was killed by a robber who stole a priceless antiquity. Felicity Carrol launches her own investigation because the victim was her mentor and friend. Felicity is educated, wealthy and has no interest in playing the role of a proper young woman in Victorian Britain. Using scientific methods, deductions, and grit, her enquiry reveals that fate of the country may be in danger if she fails. “Readers who hunger for more portraits of independent women determined to make their ways in a stultifying society will take the heroine to heart.”—Kirkus Reviews
The ebook of my Victorian mystery, FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT is on sale for $1.99 until Oct. 4 at Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
Felicity Carrol is interested in everything—except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money.
Felicity has other ambitions—but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen. Tapping into her photographic memory and the latest in the burgeoning field of forensic detection, Felicity launches an investigation. Handsome Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies is also on the case, and finds Felicity as meddlesome as she is intelligent. But when more nobles are murdered and their King Arthur relics stolen, Felicity must journey on her own into the dark underworld of antiquity theft, where she uncovers a motive far more nefarious than simple profit.
“[Felicity] is a combination of Sherlock Holmes and Indiana Jones…Recommended to those looking for a female superhero out to right wrongs and defy convention to do so.”—Historical Novels Review
FELICITY CARROL AND THE PERILOUS PURSUIT is the first in the Felicity Carrol series. The second book FELICITY CARROL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE is also available on ebook, hardcover and audio.
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/…/felicity…/1129597729…
