Frank Mundo Writer's Blog

Review of Melinda Palacio’s Ocotillo Dreams

frankmundo — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:07:33 +0000

Ocotillo Dreams
by Melinda Palacio
Bilingual Review Press
(July, 2011: 198 pages)
Paperback: $16.00

Reviewed by Frank Mundo

In poet Melinda Palacio‘s debut novel, Ocotillo Dreams, we meet a young woman named Isola, a green-eyed, “exotic-looking” Mexican-American “often mistaken for Thai or Filipino” whose mother’s death couldn’t have come at a worse time in her life. Just one fellowship short of becoming a full professor in San Francisco, Isola, drowning in credit card debt, lawyer fees and student loans, is suddenly forced to put her future on hold to settle her mother’s estate in Chandler, Arizona.

Her plan is to temporarily relocate to Chandler, pack up her mother’s house and sell it as quickly as possible and return to her life in San Francisco. With the help of her lawyer, Isola figures the whole process should only take a couple of weeks at most. But Isola, self-absorbed and a bit spoiled, has more baggage than she realizes. The self-proclaimed “reigning champ of awkward moments,” Isola discovers Cruz Zarate, a handsome stranger sleeping in her mother’s house, which is just one of the many startling secrets of her mother’s hidden life that challenge Isola’s understanding of her troubled relationship with her mother, her unresolved issues with her father’s death (and her inheritance) and her strange obsession over the break-up with her boyfriend three years before.

Read the rest at Frank Mundo’s LA Books Examiner.

About the author
Melinda Palacio was born in Huntington Park, California. She studied Comparative Literature at UC Berkeley and earned a graduate degree in the same field at UC Santa Cruz. She is a 2007 PEN USA Emerging Voices Rosenthal Fellow.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy. For the latest updates to LA Books Examiner subscribe to this page and follow me on Twitter @LaBooksExaminer.

Rick Shapiro Spoken Word Night(s)

frankmundo — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:40:45 +0000

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 8:00 pm – 11:00pm

Join us for a night of Story Telling and Song!

Hosted by Emery Emery

And featuring….

Frank Mundo

Nadejda Klein

Terri Mintz

Dylan Brody

Jonathan Menchin

Ken Bennett

William Conklin

Barry Neikrug

Rick Overton!

Music entertainment by: Eric Schwartz

Address is 704 Heliotrope, cross street Melrose, 2 blocks west of Vermont.

More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/249465481783138/

Rhapsodomancy Reading Series, Sunday Dec 4th

frankmundo — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Join writers Jillian Lauren, Khadija Anderson, Melissa Chadburn, and Lisa Cheby as they read their work for the Rhapsodomancy Reading series.

When: Sunday, December 4, 2011
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. - Reading begins at 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Good Luck Bar, 1514 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, 90027 (east Hollywood/Silver Lake: corner of Hollywood & Hillhurst)

Who: 21 and over only.
$3 suggested donation at door. There will be a cash bar.

http://www.rhapsodomancy.org

Jillian Lauren is a writer and performer with an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University. She is the author of the memoir Some Girls: My Life in a Harem and the novel Pretty, both from Plume/Penguin. Her writing has also appeared in The Paris Review, The New York Times, Los Angeles Magazine, Vanity Fair and Flaunt Magazine, among others. Jillian has appeared at spoken word and storytelling events across the country. She recently premiered her solo performance piece, Mother Tongue, in Los Angeles, where she lives with her husband and son.

Khadija Anderson, returned in 2008 to her native Los Angeles after 18 years exile in Seattle. Khadija’s poetry has been published in Pale House (forthcoming), The Ark Magazine, Unfettered Verse, CommonLine Project, Qarrtsiluni, Gutter Eloquence, Unlikely, The Citron Review, Killpoet, Wheelhouse, and Phantom Seed among others. Her poem “Islam for Americans” was nominated for a 2010 Pushcart Prize. Khadija holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University Los Angeles and her first book will be published in 2012 through Writ Large Press.

Melissa Chadburn is a lover and a fighter, a community organizer, a social arsonist, a writer, a lesbian, of color, smart, edgy and fun. Her work has appeared or is upcoming in Guernica, PANK Magazine, WordRiot, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Splinter Generation, Northville Review and she is a regular contributor at The Nervous Breakdown. She interns at dzanc books and is a proud member of the Advisory Board for Antioch University’s Lunch Ticket. She loves pit bulls and cheese.

Lisa Cheby is a poet and educator in Los Angeles. She recently completed her poetry manuscript, Stop and Read Yourself for the First Time, and is developing her critical writing on confessional poetry and gender, both projects she started while completing her MFA at Antioch University. Lisa is currently working on a chapbook, Harmony was Always Here, and a series, Love Lessons from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Lisa worked on the Board of Directors of the Valley Contemporary Poets, a non-profit organization working to promote quality poetry to the San Fernando Valley and is the new editor of Annotation Nation Poetry.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates to LA Books Examiner.

Emerging Writers & Holiday Potluck with Sisters in Crime LA

frankmundo — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 04:27:53 +0000

Sisters in Crime Los Angeles present “New Voices: A Showcase of Emerging Writers” on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Share in an eclectic potluck and listen to readings of suspense and danger from five emerging writers.
Bring new and gently used books to share with the Friends of the South Pasadena Library.
Enjoy holiday music on the piano from the talented Gerry Schiller.

Date: Sunday, Dec. 4
Time: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Place: South Pasadena Library Community Room
1115 El Centro St. South Pasadena
Cost: No charge, just a dish to share. Guests are welcome.
Designated charity: Friends of the South Pasadena Library.
More information: www.SistersinCrimeLA.com

The writers who will read from their yet-to-be-published mysteries are:

Maria Alexander, an author of humor, suspense and horror. Her stories have appeared in award-winning anthologies and magazines alongside greats such as Chuck Palahniuk and David Morrell and have been praised by “Rue Morgue” and “Fangoria.” When not crafting crimes, she is an award-winning copywriter for Disney’s websites. Check out the Haunted Mansion page on Disneyland.com to taste her turn of phrase. Her website is www.mariaalexander.net.

Maria will read from No Rhyme Goes Unpunished, an offbeat comedy thriller about Henry Cake, a homicide detective who can’t get a break in his career until someone starts killing all the worst poets in L.A.

Laura Brennan, whose eclectic career has so far included lopping people’s heads off on “Highlander: The Raven,” feeding them to dinosaurs on TV’s “The Lost World,” and sacrificing them to demons and vampires in her adaptation of the L.A. Banks” Vampire Huntress series for PicturePlay Productions. But it hasn’t all been blood and guts: Her series Faux Baby (www.hulu.com/faux-baby) explores the lighter side of motherhood. And if the faux baby loses a limb here and there, well… No, actually, she has no justification for that at all. Check her out at www.pitchingperfectly.com.

Laura will share from The End of All Things, a thriller set in Victorian London. Four years before Jack the Ripper, a killer stalks the daughters of London’s upper class. The only man who can stop him wants nothing to do with the case — until he realizes he might hang for the murders himself.

Sam Roseme, a lawyer, former journalist and busy writer. His mysteries have appeared in “A Twist of Noir,” ”Mysterical-e,” and the anthologies “Pulp Empire, Volume 2″ and the recently released “West Coast Crime Wave.” He has written for Readers’ Digest, New York Law Journal and many other publications. He is currently practices law in downtown Los Angeles.

Sam will read from his first novel, Up or Out, featuring attorney Josh Lehman.With his chances of becoming partner at his prestigious law firm slim to none, Josh is about to lose his plum job due to the firm’s strict up-or-out policy — you’re either promoted to partner or you’re pushed out. His fortunes change when he witnesses his boss run down a man and keep on driving. The blackmail saves his job for the time being but draws him deep into the cover-up of the crime and the dangerous inner world of his boss that may cost him his life.

Carole Sojka, who began to write seriously after she retired as the administrator of a public law office in Orange County. She is working on a mystery series set on Florida’s Gold Coast and has had a short story published in an anthology from Red Coyote Press.

Carole will be reading the beginning of a short story entitled “Wind,” which has as its backdrop the twin plagues of Los Angeles — wind and fire.

Diane Vallere is a 20-year fashion industry insider with a taste for murder. Her short story “Identity Crisis” is featured in FISH TALES: The Guppy Anthology, published by Wildside Press in 2011. She started her own detective agency at age 10 and has maintained a passion for shoes, clues, and clothes ever since.

Diane will present a selection from Pillow Stalk, a zany mystery revolving around interior decorator Madison Night. Madison has modeled her life and her look after Doris Day’s character in the movie “Pillow Talk,” but when a killer targets women dressed like the bubbly actress, Madison’s signature Sixties style places her in the middle of a homicide investigation. The local detective connects the new crimes to a 20-year old cold case, and Madison’s long-trusted contractor emerges as the leading suspect. As the body count piles up like a stack of plush pillows, Madison uncovers a Soviet spy, a campaign to destroy all Doris Day movies, and six minutes of film that will change her life forever.

For more information, visit: www.SistersinCrimeLA.com

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales and Gary, the Four-Eyed Fairy. Don’t forget to subscribe to my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer for the latest updates to LA Books Examiner.

Book Review: The Book of Want by Daniel Olivas

frankmundo — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 04:53:54 +0000

I reviewed The Book of Want, the debut novel of Los Angeles writer Daniel Olivas for La Bloga and LA Books Examiner.

Check them out here:

La Bloga –> http://labloga.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-review-of-book-of-want.html

La Books Examiner–> http://www.examiner.com/books-in-los-angeles/book-review-the-book-of-want-by-daniel-a-olivas

Write Bloody Press and Tankfarm Clothing present the Second Annual Speak Easy

frankmundo — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 08:23:34 +0000

Write Bloody Publishing and Tankfarm Clothing have teamed up again for their annual event Speak Easy, one heated poetry/music show to kick off the summer right. Along with some great live music from Gracious Calamity and other bands and some of the best local authors from Write Bloody publishing scheduled to hit the stage, there’s also dollar beers, fresh sausages, and taco trucks galore to keep you pumped up all night.

When and Where:
Saturday June 25th, 2011 at 7 p.m.

The Tankfarm Store
10900 Los Alimitos Blvd.
Los Alamitos, CA
Get Directions

Tickets are $3 and the password is “swordfish”.

Who:
Brendan Constantine is an ardent supporter of Southern California’s poetry communities and one of its most recognized poets. He serves these communities as a teacher of poetry in local schools and colleges as well as hospitals, elder care centers and shelters for the homeless. He is currently poet in residence at The Windward School and Loyola Marymount University Extension. Author of numerous collections, including Letters to Guns, his latest book, Birthday Girl With Possum, is from Write Bloody Publishing. Learn more about Constantine at his website. Watch him read his work live.

David Perez, poet, writer, and spoken word artist, is a recipient of the Arts Council Silicon Valley Fellowship for Literary Art, and the author of Love in a Time of Robot Apocalypse. Learn more about Perez at his website.

Mindy Nettifee, a Grand Slam Champion of the Long Beach/Orange County Poetry Slam and a Pushcart Prize nominee, has published five chapbooks and two poetry collections, including her latest Rise of the Trust Fall from Write Bloody Publishing. Learn more about Nettifee at her website.

Derrick Brown has performed at over 1500 venues and universities internationally including The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, La Sorbonne in Paris, CBGB’s in NYC and a small Jewish youth group in Glendale. President of Write Bloody Publishing, you can find his books there or learn more about him at his website.

Daniel McGinn has been a part of the Greater Los Angeles poetry scene since 1995. He has co-hosted a weekly reading series, was a member of the 1996 Los Angeles National Slam team, and has been a regular contributor to the OC Weekly and Next… Magazine. His book, 1000 Black Umbrellas, is coming soon from Write Bloody Publishing.

Paul Suntup’s first collection of poetry, Sunset at the Temple of Olives, was nominated for a National Book Award. He was born in South Africa, currently resides in Southern California and is a freelance web designer. Learn more about him at his website.

Michael Roberts is the author of the Pushcart Prize-nominated collection, No More Poems About The Moon, from Write Bloody Publishing. Learn more about Roberts on Goodreads.

Steve Abee is the author of The Bus, King Planet, Johnny Future, and Great Balls of Flowers from Write Bloody Publishing. He teaches Middle School English in Los Angeles and lives in Echo Park.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales, which is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Borders in paperback and in eBook.

LA Books Examiner’s Author Interview Series
LA Books Examiner’s Five Favorite Books Feature
LA Books Examiner’s Pause for Poetry Profiles

Mundo Prologue to Brubury Tales

frankmundo — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 05:33:54 +0000

Frank Mundo reads the Prologue to his book, “Burbury Tales” at Writers’ Row during the downtown Los Angeles Art Walk.
6/9/11

1st collector for Mundo Prologue to Brubury Tales
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Listening to Autism: A Son’s Voice, A Father’s Awakening

frankmundo — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 04:15:53 +0000

The UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment & The Nathanson Family Resource Center at the UCLA Semel Institute Present A Free Talk

“Listening to Autism: A Son’s Voice, A Father’s Awakening”

WHO:
Mark Osteen, professor at Loyola University Maryland and award-winning author of a new book, “One of Us: A Family’s Life with Autism” ( University of Missouri Press ), will speak about his life as the father of a son with severe autism. Osteen will share excerpts from his book, which was endorsed by Temple Grandin and was recently named one of nine poignant autism books by The Huffington Post.

WHAT:
During the talk, Osteen will convey lessons learned from his family’s twenty-one-year journey through adversity to understanding. He shows how parents should not just teach their children with autism, but also learn from them: learn how to listen, how to live in the moment, and how to accept their own disabilities. A UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment faculty member, Connie Kasari, Ph.D. will join the discussion.

More information is available on the EVENTS page of the UCLA website. http://www.autism.ucla.edu/. Book information is available at http://www.oneofusbook.com/ The event is FREE and open to the public.

WHEN:
Thursday, June 16, 2011
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

WHERE:
UCLA Semel Institute Auditorium

760 Westwood Plaza, Room C-183

Los Angeles, CA 90024

More Info:
For more information, to make reservations, or get parking details, please contact UCLA at 310.794.9584 or mcastaneda@mednet.ucla.edu.

*All events and speakers are subject to change without notice. Always confirm with venue before attending any event.

If you’d like to announce your Los Angeles area book events on LA Books Examiner, or the release of an upcoming book, send info at least 10 days prior to the email address under my bio. While you’re there, sign up for my emails and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales, which is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Borders in paperback and in eBook.

LA Books Examiner’s Author Interview Series

LA Books Examiner’s Five Favorite Books Feature

LA Books Examiner’s Pause for Poetry Profiles

Don’t Miss Writers Row in the Downtown Art Walk on Thursday, June 9th

frankmundo — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:55:43 +0000

Made possible by the collaboration of Harlem Place Café, the Los Angeles Poet Society, and the Downtown Art Walk, Writers Row is the only spot at the downtown Art Walk that celebrates the Written Art!

Hear work from featured writers. Participate in the Open Mic. Enjoy the vibes of a modern-day Speak Easy and grab a glass of wine.

Listen to the written art of Featured Writers and have the opportunity to meet them and learn what is going on in their worlds. Join in on the action yourself and step up to the Open Mic. Open Mic participants have the option to go heads up against each other for a chance to be invited as a Featured Writer during the next Writers’ Row!

Where?
Writers’ Row is held at the Harlem Place Cafe – 124 W. 4th St. Los Angeles, CA 90013 — literally down the alley located on 4th and Main St. in downtown LA. Early arrival is suggested as the downtown Art Walk brings in thousands of people! Parking may be tough. You can park at a meter, or for safe no-worry parking, bring $3-$10 cash for parking in one of the public lots. Need directions?

When?
Thursday, June 9th from 8-10 pm
Writers’ Row is free to the public and a continuing event that will be held each 2nd Thursday of the month, same time and place.

Who?
Featured writers, selected in advanced by The Los Angeles Poet Society, take the stage from 8 to 9:30 p.m.
DJ A-Ski will be spinning between sets.

Schedule of events

8pm: Jessica Wilson introduces Writers’ Row, Introductory poem for the night

8:15pm: Matt Sedillo
Matt Sedillo is a two-time national slam poet and published author. He has been published in anthologies alongside Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Hirschman, Amiri Baraka, Luis Rodriguez and many others. He has performed at colleges across the country.

8:30pm: Frank Mundo
For 14 years, Frank Mundo worked as a graveyard-shift security guard in Los Angeles, a job which allowed him to write and publish hundreds of stories, poems, essays, book reviews, author interviews, and his award-winning novel in verse, The Brubury Tales – a modern version of The Canterbury Tales in Los Angeles.

8:45pm: Jayson Pida
Jayson Pida is a Poet and a native of the San Fernando Valley. He has had a decorated career as an Air Force Pilot and as a sincere educator for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Jayson holds his MFA in Writing from Otis College of Art and Design.

9:00pm: Luivette Resto
Luivette Resto was born in Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico but proudly raised in the Bronx. Her first book of poetry Unfinished Portrait was published in 2008 by Tia Chucha Press and was named a finalist for the 2009 Paterson Poetry Prize. She is also a contributing poetry editor for Kweli Journal, and she is the new hostess of a monthly poetry reading series called La Palabra located at Avenue 50 Studio in Highland Park.

9:15pm: AK Toney

9:30pm: Open Mic
Open mic participants take the stage from 930 to 10pm.
Participants are eligible to compete for a spot in the next Writers’ Row. Please let the MC know that you would like to be considered to be a Featured Writer at the next Writers’ Row.

Would you like to be a Featured Writer at Writers’ Row?
Please email Jessica Wilson at venicesoapboxpoets@gmail.com and send a sample of your work.

Join Writers’ Row on Facebook

Meet local author and indie rocker Bill See & read the 1st chapter of 33 Days

frankmundo — Fri, 13 May 2011 08:56:43 +0000

If you’re starting to put together your summer reading list, please consider 33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream, an inspiring new memoir from LA author and former 80′s indie rocker Bill See. And while the title says a lot about the book, it’s the book that really tells a lot about many of us in Los Angeles–the dreamers, that is–those of us who not only dare to dream but who choose to pursue that dream at all costs, against all odds, with passion and no regrets.

You can meet Bill See at Book Soup this Saturday, May 14th at 2pm.

In the meantime, learn more about Bill See, his music, his dream, and read an excerpt from his book below.

Book Soup
8818 W. Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood.
(310) 659-3110.

About the book
For 33 days in the summer of 1987, critically acclaimed L.A. indie rock band Divine Weeks toured in a beat up old van, sleeping on strangers’ floors, never sure they’d make enough gas money to get them to the next town. Bill See’s deeply personal memoir follows his band’s first tour across the U.S. and Canada. No soundman, no roadies, all they have is their music and each other’s friendship. 33 Days captures the essence of what it is to be 22 and chase a dream, back to a time in life when dreams don’t have boundaries, when everything is possible. The tour is one of those now or never experiences. Take a shot at making the band work or leave it all behind and go your separate ways. Every one of us has that moment where we have to decide to either live our dreams or give up and regret it for the rest of our lives. 33 Days touches that part of us. The road is filled with yuppies, brothels, riots, sleeping on floors, spiked drinks, DJs with no pants, and battles with racism. They set out on the road to discovery to drink in all they could and maybe sell a few records. They grew up instead.he time has come to be brave.

Watch Divine Weeks Bitterness Video

Read an excerpt of 33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream by Bill See

For the latest updates to Frank Mundo, LA Books Examiner, be sure to subscribe and follow me on Twitter @LABooksExaminer.

Frank Mundo is the author of The Brubury Tales (foreword by Carolyn See), which is available on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble in paperback and in eBook. The Brubury Tales won Reader View’s 2011 Reviewer’s Choice Award for Poetry Book of the Year and the 2011 Bookhitch Award for Most Innovative Poetry Book of the Year.