The Company You Keep
By Mary Castillo

What happens when you round up a bunch of women who've eaten way too much chocolate and abandoned their naked Christmas trees to blog online? You get the 12 Days of Chica Lit!

Every day since last Tuesday, my writing comadres and I have regaled each other and our readers with holiday stories of love, family, and, most importantly, food on our blogs.

In my short story, "La Familia Orihuela," I brought back those wild Orihuela girls from "Till Death Do Us Part" in NAMES I CALL MY SISTER. Let me tell ya, keeping company with Dori, Sela, and their untamed Grammy Cena brought back the memories of my family at Christmas.

Back then, the house smelled like menudo and tamales, and us kids ran wild in the yard because our dads and uncles were inside cussing over the toys they hadn't finished putting together the night before!

The 12 Days of Chica Lit has also reunited me with my comadres, Berta Platas and Sofia Quintero from NAMES I CALL MY SISTER, and Caridad Pineiro who was with us in FRIDAY NIGHT CHICAS. The tour also includes stories by Mayra Calvani, Margo Candela, Caridad Ferrer (the author of my top book of 2007), Tracy Montoya, Toni Margarita Plummer, and Lara Rios. And if you thought it couldn't get more exciting than that, there are stories from the soon-to-be debut authors such as Kathy Cano Murillo, Jamie Martinez Wood and Misa Ramirez!

You'd think that with this level of talent there would be some authorial cat fighting. Not so!

Reading my fellow authors' work inspires me. They show me how well stories can reach inside us and touch our hearts. In other words, I'm really proud to be among them.

Take a minute and leave those gifts unwrapped, grab yourself a hot chocolate, and pull up a chair to join us for the 12 Days of Chica Lit!

6 Comments:

Blogger Caridad Pineiro said:

Well it's been a blast sharing all these awesome stories and recipes! I think I gained 10 pounds just be reading them and imagining how tasty all those foods are going to be when I try them out over the holidays.

Feliz Navidad, amiga!

10:54 AM  

Blogger Mayra Calvani said:

I love your blog! Thanks for the lovely announcement! I've also grown hungry reading all the recipes--I wish I had a cook!

11:35 AM  

Anonymous Anonymous said:

Me, too! Barb's story was the ultimate. I'd get married again just for a cake like the one her character made.

Love,
Mary

11:39 AM  

Blogger Lara Rios said:

Mary, participating in this group is inspiring for me as well. You are all such spectacular writers!

I've even started blogging again -- and I never find time to do that. My only complaint is that I'm gaining too much weight going through recipe books now that I've also been inspired to do more cooking.

Oh well, fat but happy.
Lara

12:12 PM  

Blogger Jamie Martinez Wood said:

I've posted my story, Ride the Wild Pony. Yeah! Though I am thinking of offering a hint for my tough question. That's what you get for loving etymology. So, finally I get to take the Chica Lit Blog tour beginning with Mary Castillo. I'm off to read and apparently walk away hungry. Cheers!
Jamie

2:17 PM  

Blogger Barbara Caridad Ferrer said:

The husband is now after me to make that cake—never mind I tell him that he'd probably fall over dead after a slice, all he says is, "The life insurance is paid up and you're the main beneficiary, so bring it on!"

Guys, really! (I should serve it to him with a glass of Berta's crema de vie.)

It was been just a real treat and an honor sharing the holiday season with y'all and of course, a tremendous honor that Mary chose Accent as her top book. I still haven't stopped grinning. My kids are worried!

Happy Holidays everyone! Now, I need to go do something about my naked tree.

2:22 PM  

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