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Tom Hanks Strikes Again!

4/27/2016

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On Saturday I was entertained all day by Tom Hanks. He’s in a new movie that opened last weekend called A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING based on a novel by Dave Eggers. In the film, Hanks plays an IT salesman who goes to Saudi Arabia to make a big sale. Naturally, problems ensue. People don’t keep appointments. Alan misunderstands. He suffers jetlag again and again. I enjoyed the film tremendously because it reminded me of Mexico, where the same kinds of problems happen—only the clothing is different! The photography was as beautiful as the depictions of camaraderie; I loved the film on many levels.
 
That night PBS ran SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE, a film I saw in the theatre when it came out in—ready?—1993. Well-known author Nora Ephron co-wrote the script and directed the movie. At the time I thought the film was a little sappy, but I enjoyed it. Last Saturday I enjoyed it all over again—admitted that it was still sappy—but was impressed by how much I enjoyed the performances. Meg Ryan is always delightful, and Tom Hanks, well, he’s still a star entertainer. He stirs me because he excels in portraying raw emotions: fear, angst, disappointment, frustration, hope, love! I trust him as a performer because I’m confident he’ll take me somewhere new and that I’ll want to be with him along the way.
 
So if you’re looking for weekend entertainment (and not a routine blockbuster), try the new Tom Hanks’ movie. Perhaps it will be time for me to revisit some work of Meg Ryan….
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CIELO BOOK CLUB

4/19/2016

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My phone chat with the Cielo Book Club of Springfield, Illinois, was a lot of fun last week. The readers asked perceptive questions about Andy Veracruz. Yes, he was modeled on some people I knew—in fact, he’s a kind of combination. And yes, he makes some naïve mistakes. I saw that over and over with my own mariachi friends!

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Happy readers thinking about Mexico and eating great tacos!
The readers were quite entertained by my descriptions of the trajes we wear and the fact that we jingle when we walk. That’s okay now that I live in a house, but when I had an apartment, it was a little embarrassing to be jingle-jangling my way down the hall at two in the morning!

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If I ever find a real-life Yiolanda, I'll run away!
Some readers reported that they couldn't put the book down. Maybe this is why I'm a night owl. I love to stay up late--and in that respect, I love to be a bad influence!
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I just want to get to the end of this chapter....
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Book Club FUN

4/2/2016

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Next Saturday I'm the features author for the CIELO book club of Springfield, Illinois! Although usually they read books in Spanish, some of the readers wanted to look at MARIACHI MURDER because it has a lot of information about mariachi music. I'll be in Tucson or Phoenix that day, so I'll be Skyping in to say hello. I'm so happy that they're reading the book!

Musically:

Mariachi Murder = mariachi music
Island Casualty =  Greek folk music
Dizzy in Durango = mariachi music and classical music

Take your musical pick!
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    Big News

    DERVLA AND THE NANAS is now an audiobook!

    PARTY WINE is too!

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