Moving along with another review (plus some notes about the next novel)

Saludos!

Well, Solstice has just gotten another review! Woohoo!! This one is by Lisa Alvarado, a noted Chicana author (Sister Chicas), poet, and performance artist, and regular contributor to La Bloga! And it’s a good one ^^; In fact, Ms. Alvarado has this to say about the book:

"It's a clever spin and a birthing of a universe equal to Dick's replicants and humans in Blade Runner, or Marv Wolfman's skinwalkers and vampires in Blade…While Dick's influence is clear, Silva's terrain is a unique one, his style noirish, his female characters strong and tender, ruthless and unstoppable."

…....wow ^___^; I highly encourage you to stop by La Bloga and read the rest. La Bloga is a site run by a group of prominent Chicano authors and writers, and dedicated to the reviews, discussion, and exposure of new Latino/a creative voices. Needless to say, I consider it an absolute honor to be mentioned on their site. So Lisa, muchas gracias!!! ^__^

Some other stuff has been going on as of late. Let’s see…

Well, as I mentioned the last time I wrote in this thing, I finished my first draft of my new novel, a comedic satire I’ve entitled Inventing Vazquez. I’ve decided to put the book away for a month before starting on the rewrite, to kind of clear my head and approach the book in January with fresh eyes. But I’m excited about having finished the draft all the same, especially because now I can start thinking in terms of ‘when will this be published?’ In fact, assuming I’m going the self-publishing route again (and given the unexpected success of Solstice, it’s not an idea I’m adverse to), I think I’m going to shoot for an early 2009 release ^^;; Hey, I’m crazy, I know.

Of course, in the meantime, with a month to spare before picking up Inventing Vazquez again, I’ve decided to start working on my new novel. Only problem is…transitioning from Inventing Vazquez’ light-hearted, mirthful tone, to The Mourning Syndrome’s dreary, depressing, and apocalyptic tone, is proving more of a challenge than I thought. I hope to start writing soon, because I really want to get going on it. Just have to finish outlining the plot, the main characters, and a single plot-related question that has, so far, been unanswerable. I guess I have to keep brainstorming. And watching Kairo 15 more times ^^;;;

It’s funny, too. I know some people have expressed concern over my schizophrenic writing projects (i.e., end of the world story, happy story, back to end of the world story, next one probably happy again). And I know that, given the fact that I’m trying to establish myself as a speculative fiction writer, Inventing Vazquez could be a problem to market. Still, I haven’t let that stop me. Not only was the new book a lot of fun to write, but the truth is…it tells a story that I think needs to be told. That’s to say, I have some thoughts on Hollywood and its portrayal of Latino/as and people of color, and Inventing Vazquez gives voice to those thoughts. So I’m not really worrying about whether it’s wise, career-wise, to publish it. I’ll do so regardless, and let the chips fall where they may.

Oh, I’m starting to take up some other projects as well. In fact, I just wrote a review of a Japanese movie called Dragon Head for Quiet Earth, and you can read it here. It’s given me the idea that, considering how much I LOVE Japanese and Asian horror movies, I might start a review blog for them. So there’s that. Also, I’m meeting with Christopher from Urban Molecule next week in NYC, and there’s a chance I might be able to contribute something to them, which would be really exciting. I guess I had to come out of my writing shell at some point, huh? ^^;

Okay, I’ve babbled long enough. And don’t forget to buy your copy of Solstice at our site or anywhere where books are sold! After all, nothing says, “happy holidays, I really love/like/marginally tolerate you, so here’s a joyous gift for you” than a book about the end of the world ^^;;