Based on the wildly popular, semi-autobiographical "Havana Honey" series published by Salon, Dirty Blonde and Half-Cuban is a gritty portrait of one woman's determination to infiltrate modern Cuba and find the father she has never known.
While on her search, privileged American Alysia Briggs ends up broke and alone in Havana. She's then forced to adopt the life of the jineteras -- educated Cuban women who supplement a desperate income by accommodating sex tourists.
With an eye for detail and a razor wit, Lisa Wixon relates Alysia's journey and creates a love song to Cuba, a heartfelt tribute to a resilient people facing soul-numbing poverty in a land where M.D.s and Ph.D.s earn $18 a month, and a pair of jeans costs twice as much.
What else could go wrong for 29-year-old ESL teacher and single mom Isa Avellan after she's been voted the un-sexiest woman alive by the entire student body?
Well . . .
She could be knocked unconscious by a well-kicked soccer ball and wind up saddled with a guardian angel who looks and sounds a lot like Joan Collins.
She could have to endure the on-air ravings of her flojo ex-husband as he reveals every intimate, humiliating detail of their sex life to an infamous shock-jock . . . on national radio!
Or she could take matters into her own hands and submit to a total makeover, from lipstick to toenail polish to lacy lingerie. And with the help of some well-meaning (if slightly loca) tías, she could become L.A.'s most ravishing reborn sex goddess, say adios to the past, and see about capturing the attention of a hot new man. But the new Isa is about to find out that it's not so easy juggling motherhood, career, and sex-symbol status. It could, however, turn out to be a whole lot of fun.
Four stories of sisterhood—the bonds, the wars, the frustrations, the love—seasoned with hot Latin spice!
Those "Wild Orihuela Girls," Dori and her sister Sela, intend to live up to their reputation—and more!—in order to give their snooty sister-in-law-to-be exactly what she deserves on her wedding day . . . Till Death Do Us Part by Mary Castillo
Anita Suarez is only seeking comfort after losing her dream job and carefree lifestyle, but finds that her old-fashioned sister Susana has abandoned her family to run off to Sin City with a college hunk. Now it's up to Anita to bring Susu back to reality and keep the younger man's sexy big brother at bay . . . What Stays in Vegas by Berta Platas
Michelle Saez is a total straight-arrow by day—but at night, she lives a shocking double life in leather as Madame Michelina. And her scandalous secret could very well derail her attorney sister Jennifer's bid for elected office . . . Whipped by Sofia Quintero
Popular talk-radio queen Marisol Avila can't keep her mouth shut—and she's airing her sister Cristy's dirty laundry to millions of listeners nationwide. It's going to take more than Cristy's unwanted fifteen minutes of fame to repair this sisterly rift and re-connect siblings who are seriously . . . Diss-Connected by Lynda Sandoval
Damas, Dramas, and Ana Ruiz (Quinceav±era Club)
Sometimes what we have is not enough. She doesn't know his name and he doesn't know hers, but they just might be perfect for each other. Alexander Velazquez, an ambitious lawyer from a working-class neighborhood, and Evelyn Sinclair, a daughter of privilege trying to make it on her own, are strangers living parallel yet very different lives. Alex finds himself deeply entrenched in the life of an unredeemable client, and Evelyn realizes she's committed herself to a company with questionable ethics. They are both brokenhearted workaholics constantly trying to keep up with the demands of family and friends. What they both want is to find meaning in their lives; what they're doing is looking in the wrong directions. As they watch each other through their office windows, all they can do is wonder about what might happen if they took a chance on the stranger across the street.
