Thursday, March 3, 2022

TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT MY NOVEL, DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION, BY MARIA J. ANDRADE

 


TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT MY NOVEL, DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION

 

1.     1. Much of the story was shaped while the author was daydreaming as she stared at a birdhouse that hung from a tree outside her window.


2


2. The romantic and passionate love scenes are equally intense in the Spanish version of the novel, Desafío y redención, Una vida de vínculos intactos, which is available on Amazon and other bookstores.


3.     3. The country, Ecuador, in which the story takes place, gave women the right to vote before America did.


4.     4. In the chapter, “Casa Jaramillo” Aunt Micho speaks of the “Four Fortunes” for women, beauty, love, health, and wealth. This was entirely fiction. There was an Aunt Micho in real life, but no theory of the “Four Fortunes” and how to experience them.

5.     5. The tiniest monkey in the world which fits in the palm of the hand called a “marmoset,” is discussed in the story along with interesting information about the Amazon jungle, its healing plants, and shamanism.

6.     6. Readers will also learn about some of the flora and fauna of Ecuador. For example, although it is the fourth-smallest country in South America, it has more bird species than any in North America and Europe combined!


7.     7. There are fascinating historical facts about the story which takes place between the first and second world wars. For example, while most of the world suffered direct human and economic loss during those wars, Ecuador looked out across her continent unscathed.


8.     8. The story also covers the glamour of the 30s and 40s when women began to feel the possibility of some freedom and independence in their private and public lives.


9.    9. In the true story, Eva’s sister and Eva’s older daughter Amalia left the country together before Eva did. Then Eva left alone. A year later, after she got work, Eva sent for her youngest daughter Maria and her friend Marta, who was the child’s caretaker at the time.


t10. The twenty-nine people that lived with Marta was true. It was also true that the parrot who lived with them spoke fluent Spanish, imitated mourners cries, and knew how to curse.

 

Maria J. Andrade was born in Ecuador, South America, and raised in New York and California. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. As a licensed therapist and writer, Maria has been diving into other people’s minds and her own, through dreams, poetry, and books for over three decades. She traveled with the Four Winds Society where she studied and was initiated into Andean shamanism in 1990.

Before Maria retired as a therapist, she specialized in women’s issues and founded the Wise Women’s Circle a ritualistic and transpersonal study group that continues today. The women support each other through life’s challenges and in the growth of mind, body, and spirit.

Maria Andrade’s books for children and adults is found in a variety of genres. This is an unforgettable first novel that reflects her imagination and creative storytelling.

Defiance and Redemption is her latest release.

Visit her website at www.booksasfriends.com or connect with her on FacebookTwitter and Goodreads.

 

 

1 comment:

  1. These insights have made a fascinating book even more so!

    ReplyDelete