Monday, January 25, 2010

Book Blog Tour of Gwendolyn Zepeda's Lone Star Legend

Welcome to the Book Blog Tour for Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda!


Dominga Saavedra goes by Sandy. Sandy is the name that her mother had picked out based on her favorite musical, Grease. Sandy's boyfriend Daniel never goes by Danny, but that's never stopped Sandy's mother from giving him that moniker.

As Sandy feels that she has to accommodate the people she loves, from her graduate student boyfriend Daniel to her prying (a.k.a. "concerned") mother to her employers. The one place that Sandy doesn't have to suppress her feelings or sugarcoat her reactions is on her new blog, My Modern TragiComedy. As MissTragiComic Texas, Sandy can say whatever she wants without fear. So she does!

But when her old newspaper gets taken over by an online news and entertainment entity, Sandy has to learn to write for the Nacho Papi's Website. Serious journalism goes out the window as Sandy is asked to come up with short, exciting posts that generate hits. Nothing is off-limits, the more personal the better! Her new boss Angelica Villanueva O'Sullivan is trim, glamorous, and takes no prisoners. As Sandy revises her style, her look, and her life, she gradually realizes that the new Sandy isn't much of an improvement.

Lone Star Legend and Sandy's story is made richer by Tio Jaime, an unexpected friend who teaches Sandy and her readers about generosity and keeping things real. Tio Jaime is incorporated into Sandy's site and writings as Chupacabre, the Wise Goat Man. Though Tio Jaime's refusal to sign the legal waiver foreshadows problems in the future. (Lawsuit waiting to happen, anyone?)

A light, witty and heartwarming read, Lone Star Legend is sure to make you chuckle, wince (in sympathy), and cry. I recommend it highly!

ISBN-10: 0446539600 - Paperback $13.00
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Original edition (January 25, 2010) 354 pages.
Review copy provided by the publisher.

About the Author, courtesy of her website:
Gwendolyn Zepeda was born in Houston, Texas in 1971 and attended the University of Texas at Austin. She began her writing career on the Web in 1997, with her long-running site gwendolynzepeda.com and as one of the founding writers of entertainment site Television Without Pity. Her first book was a short-story collection called To the Last Man I Slept with and All the Jerks Just Like Him (Arte Público Press, 2004).

Zepeda’s first children’s book, Growing Up with Tamales (Piñata Books) is a 2009 Charlotte Zolotow Award Highly Commended Title. Her first novel, Houston, We Have a Problema (Grand Central Publishing, 2009) won praise from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist for its wit and upbeat story. Novelist Alisa Valdez Rodriguez calls Zepeda “a master wordsmith.”

A two-time Houston Arts Alliance literary fellowship winner and award-winning poet, Zepeda regularly lectures at universities throughout Texas.

Her latest books include another children’s book – Sunflowers (Piñata Books, 2009) – and a new novel from Grand Central Publishing called Lone Star Legend. Visit Gwendolyn Zepeda's website at http://www.gwendolynzepeda.com/index.html to learn more.

Participating Sites:

January 25
January 26

Thank you so much to Gwendolyn Zepeda, Miriam and Hatchette Book Group for this review opportunity!! Congratulations on a job well done!

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed this book, but thought it was geared to a younger audience than me. I thought it had a great message, though.

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