Title: Single Chicas
Author: Sandra C. López
Genre: Humor/Chick Lit/Contemporary
Book Blurb:
Smart, witty, and funny, these stories will explore the true endurance of singlehood.
Excerpt:
#6: My Big Fat Fake Marriage
Sometimes things have a way of getting too far. You certainly don't mean for them to, but yet they do. It all started on a typical visit to my grandma's house. I was riding alongside my mother on the San Antonio Highway, beneath a scorching summer sun. Leaning against the tattered softness of the seat, eyes concealed by dark shades, I leaned my arm out the window, as sheets of sweat collected in the crevices of my body. It was over 110 degrees, and I was frying up like bacon.
By the time we arrived, my grandma was practically waiting on the front porch with open arms. Squealing like a little pig on helium, she rushed in on us with dry, puckering lips ready to kiss.
"Oh, how are you, mijita?" she greeted me with a wrenching hug. I could feel her squeezing me tight as I coiled my arms around her short, round body. She teetered me back and forth a few times, before taking a step back and, her hands clutching my shoulders, saying, "When are you going to get married?"
Within an hour, the entire hen clan of the Concha family was under one roof. And before I knew it, my life had suddenly turned into an inquisitive battle ground that targeted my total lack of a husband.
"Why don't you have a husband?"
"When are we going to start planning your wedding?"
"Are you seeing anyone, at least?"
"Are you putting yourself out there?"
"When was the last time you even went out with a man?"
"You do like men, don't you?"
Apparently, being born a Mexican female meant that I was supposed to be traded for sheep by the time I turned fifteen. Additionally, I was supposed to have pumped out about a dozen kids, naming each one after some loyal ancestor, leaving the boys to be raised by their father and rearing the girls to be happy, little housewives before puberty. If all went on schedule, I would've been a retired grandmother at thirty-five. But this wasn't 1920. Still, at thirty-two, I was considered a wrinkled, old spinster way past my expiration date. And it was endearing to know that my mother would stick up for me by telling them, "Don't worry, it's not too late. We can always sign her up on OurTime.com." Yeah, thanks, Mom.
By the time we left, I had the numbers and profiles of about eight different guys stuffed in my pocket. When I got back to Los Angeles, I had several messages on my machine, all from guys I didn't know. Days later, I found out my Tía Lucia had put a singles ad in the paper for me. I got so many calls that I had to disconnect my service. My inbox turned into a clutter of random faces and baby asses with a caption: "Aren't they cute?" The clincher was when they turned my birthday party into a bachelor potluck, each one passing me around like a hot potato to an eligible specimen. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore, and it was then that I openly (and foolishly) announced that I had gotten married.
Of course, ever since I opened my big mouth, I've been probed all the way up to my neck.
"Who is he?"
"Where'd you meet him?"
"What does he do?"
"How did this happen?"
"Are you gonna start having kids now?"
Buy Link:
What’s the first binge-worthy book you read and why was it a must-read?
I’ve read so many books—some even in one sitting—that I can’t really name one. There’s so many great books out there, some even worth of binge-worth.
What makes this a binge-worthy book?
It’s hilarious and relatable.
Giveaway:
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Open internationally
Runs August 1 – 31
Drawing will be held on September 1.
Author Biography:
Sandra C. López is one of today's influential Latina authors in Young Adult and contemporary literature. Her first novel, Esperanza: A Latina Story, was published in March 2008 WHILE she was still in college. Since then she has published several other books, including the Single Chicas series. She was named as one of "2011 Top Ten New Latino Authors to Watch" by Latino Stories, and her book, Beyond the Gardens, was a Silver Medal winner of the 2016 Global Ebook Awards in Multicultural Fiction and won first place in the Int'l Latino Book Awards. She also works as a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Art, literature, and travel are her passions, and she aims to keep doing them as long as she can.
Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArtistSandraL
Website: www.sandra-lopez.com