The name of my business is NikkiJax Books Games Media and More, and I sell on both EBAY and Amazon. So feel free to check out my listings. On Ebay, I sell mostly out-of-print books and miscellaneous items, and Amazon is mostly in print, non-fiction books. Aside from scheduling writing workshops, I'm still writing for a realty brokerage company, and I am getting ready to attend the Edward James Olmos Literacy festival in Houston this Sept to promote the spanish version of Chicken Soup for the Latino Soul, and of course, my novel. I plan to have it ready as an ebook and hopefully as an audiobook, if I can get my husband to finish up the music for me since he has been extremely tied to other projects as well.
By the way, speaking of my very talented hubby. His band is taking music to new heights as they endeavor to combine their latino roots with jazz, funk, reggae, and of course, ROCK. This is no garage band as you will get to hear and judge for yourself. They need all the support they can get. They have recently submitted a request to perform at this year's Rock-n-Roll marathon in San Antonio, and their myspace will be reviewed by a committee of people who will decide whether they are going to have the chance to play in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. This is a wonderful opportunity for them to get some exposure, and we can use as many myspace hits and positive comments on their site as they can get. The name of their band is MEN OF CLAY and their link is www.myspace.com/menofclay. Please check out their music and extend your support. They play all ORIGINAL music, and at the expense of sounding biased, they totally ROCK! Their lyrics place emphasis on positive thinking, positive attitudes, and a positive way of life. If you like their music and you are interested in buying their soon to be released CD, you can pre-order it at their website at www.menofclay.com. Their CD will be released in both acoustic and rock versions. Thanks for reading!
I hope you've been enjoying the long, hot summer days spent with family and friends. As for me, aside from holding writing workshops, completing my prequel, querying agents, book publishers and such for my novel, I've been busily setting up an Ebay store. No, I am not a glutton for misery. I'm just trying to find other avenues to help support my family while I wait for some massive book advance to someday land on my lap (ha-ha).
Anyway, if you do any Ebaying, feel free to check out my store "NikkiJax Books Games Medi and More," and please add it as one of your favorites. I sell new and used books, games, collectible toys, media, and some housewares. If there is a particular item you've been looking for, shoot me an email and I'll keep an eye out when I go on my estate sale scavenger hunts.
Check out the widget below to see list of items I am selling. Oh! And I also sell the EBOOK to my novel at www.heartofthejaguar.com as well. Thanks for reading and I wish everyone much success in everything you do!
Love and blessings, JAX, author of HEART OF THE JAGUAR "A Shadow to Call Her Own" Amazon shorts "A Bridge to Freedom" and "Grandma's Recipe" CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE LATINO SOUL "Am I the Only One Who is Outraged?!" HANGPROUD.COM "Alone," Long Story Short, poetry submission
Currently
listening
:
Portable Sounds
By
Tobymac
Release date: 2007-02-20
I was so nervous
Current mood: accomplished
Category: Writing and Poetry
To anyone who is reading this, I just wanted to share my experience of a recent trip I took to Midwest Oklahoma recently. I attended a writer's conference there, and it wasn't the 8 hr drive, alone, that was nerve-wrecking, but meeting with my first editor face-to-face. Although, I have to admit that the city gave me a nice initiating welcome the first night I was there.
I was attending a "Pitch Your Story" workshop at the Reed Sheraton hotel, when out of the blue, some lady waltzes in and interrupts the session. "Excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt," she says in a matter-a-fact tone, "but the city's sirens are ringing and we must all exit in an orderly fashion to the storm shelter until the tornadoes have all passed."
"Torna what?!" I thought. I can handle hurricanes, because there's usually enough time to evacuate, but not this. I seriously dont know how Oklahomans live with such unpredicability. My hats definitely go off to them!
Anyway, we are all shuffled into a shelter and 20 minutes later, everything was clear. At least that's what I thought. All night long, I tossed and turned, and jolted out of my bed every time thunder and hail ripped and pelted within reach of my window. I've heard thunder before, but this was like the precursor to the sound of the apocalypse. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep all night, and I so needed it, since I was meeting with an editor of a U.S. publishing company the following morning.
Despite my four hours of sleep, I managed to drag myself out of bed, douse my self with cold water to help alleviate the bags under my eyes, and chugged an extra cup of caffeine. I was soooo nervous...
It felt like an audition at American Idol --although-- I dont exactly know what that's like, since I've never actually auditioned for American idol, but I imagine it's alot like that: tense!
Everyone gets a little piece of paper telling you what time your appointment is at and you have to wait outside this room until they call you in. Feeling all special with a 9:50 a.m. appointment, I arrived there 15 minutes early and noticed that five other people were also given that time slot. I suppose they do that in case others bail. Trust me, it was tempting, but the moment I felt that twitch to get up and run, I immediately thought of my daughter, and told myself that if I was going to fail, I was going to fail trying, not running. [Rocky theme playing in the background]
Anyway, I immediately told her that it was my first face-to- face appointment and she was quick to point out that I only had 5 minutes, so I better make it a good one. Okay, sure, there's no pressure there. My brain immediately went, AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! But I managed to pull it off just in time.
This is what I said, "I wrote a novel for young adults about the origin of the infamous weeping woman, La Llorona. " Immediately, her eyes lit up and she told me that she loved to hear stories about her, since she heard them growing up as a kid. I should have asked what were some of those stories to engage her in a conversation where we could make a connection, but I immediately went into my pitch since I was on autopilot and only had about 4 minutes left:
Seventeen-year-old, Nina, discovers she has an ancient past that links her to the legendary Weeping Woman, La Llorona. That connection helps her overcome her battered and abusive past but the wrath of an Aztec high priest threatens to collide her modern day world as a mysterious stranger leads her into the perilous Paradise of Lost Souls.
She went ooo, I went aaah, and she asked for my synopsis and manuscript. WOO-HOO! She was impressed that the pitch was short and to the point. In fact, that's one of the things that I learned from the workshop. Make your pitch no more than two sentences long and a synopsis no more than one page. This greatly increases your chances at gaining some interest. Anyway, her response time on manuscripts is 2-4 months, so fingers crossed, let's hope I hear from her. The hardest part out of this whole process is the waiting game, but patience and perseverance is the key. And I write this to encourage other writers who want to do this, because if you want it bad enough, you have to hang on. So I hope this helps!
In the meantime, I've been dabbling in poetry and had my first piece published with www.longstoryshort.us. It's titled Alone, under the name of JAX. Check it out by scrolling to the POETRY link of the webpage. It's dedicated to a select group of women, but I don't want to say who they are, so as not to ruin the ending.
[If this does not apply to you, but you know someone who may be interested, please forward this email to that person.]
Attention ALL Educators or prospective teachers and writers interested in publishing your work online:
Doctor Carol Groman from the English dept at South Texas college is working on a curriculum for my novel for young adults to teach an entry level composition 1 class. Her students range from all writing levels from the 8th- 12th grade, so if you are a middle school teacher, you certainly qualify.
She is asking for 2 chapter lessons for the novel for chapters 5-15. You may submit consecutive or random chapters as long as there are two lessons in the submissions. For example, you can chose to submit lessons for chapters 5,6 or any two random chapters between 5-15 (e.g. 7 and 12). You will receive $100 if selected, and the work will be posted on the novel's website, giving you credit for the work.
Please note that she will edit the material according to her criteria and may use one or all of the lessons submitted. Nevertheless, you will maintain full authorship for the work.
How does she want the lesson and how long does it have to be? That is entirely up to you as long as the instruction is meaningful (and not busy work), and that part of it also encourages writing. She is looking for innovative and creative people, so they do not have to necessarily be in the teaching profession, but it helps. Samples of the first three chapter lessons can be viewed in the "Teacher Ideas" link of the website: www.heartofthejaguar.com. The book is a fast read and it took me 20-30 minutes to do the lesson. You don't have to stick to that exact format, so be creative. Remember that the objective is to get students to make real life connections to the book and encourage them to write!
A hard copy of the novel may be purchased on Amazon, or you may get the revised Ebook version at the website www.heartofthejaguar.com for $4 less the retail price ($5.95). (Read below for submission guidelines)
This is an excellent opportunity to get some exposure and earn a little extra cash, so why not go for it! Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Abraham Cowley (read below for submission guidelines)
On subject line write: Heart of the Jaguar lesson submission (include the two chapters you are submitting)
Include a short bio, no more than one page, contact information (address, contact email, phone number, etc.), and how you would like your name to appear on the website should your work be accepted (you may include personal website links as well). Please do not send attachments as those will not be opened due to malicious viruses. Post everything on the email.
Include the lesson's objective, no longer than a one-paragraph description. If the lesson follows a TEK guideline, please include that, but it is not mandatory. Remember, attachments will not be opened. Please post everything on the email.
You will be contacted within 4-8 weeks (you may receive a response within a week, but please allow a maximum of 8 weeks.)
I just wanted to share with you my latest happenings. I just had an article, "Am I the Only One Who is Outraged?!" published with HangProud.com. It’s a social commentary I wrote about how our cultural norms objectify women to the point of excess and how that has an effect on our young girls today. You’ll have to log on to the website first to access the article, but it’s free for viewing. It’s been considered provactive and insightful, and it’s a message that needs to be told. Feel free to post a comment on the site, I would love to get your feedback, and this along to anyone you feel would like to read this. Hope all is well and for all the writers on this list: Keep writing! Pursue your passion with perseverance...
Book reading and signing for Latino Soul
Current mood: excited
I just posted on my bulletin this announcement, but figured I should blog it as well. The time has come to start promoting the Spanish version to this wonderful book. I can't believe its had so many successful accomplishments, including being in the top 10 best seller lists for the series and winning international praises. If you live in the San Antonio area and would like to meet two other contributing authors, please stop by and join us today. Pass the word along, or buy it as a gift for someone else. This book is a complete must-have for every latino/a out there!
Love and blessings,
JAX
Book Reading and
Signing Announcement Featuring three Contributing Authors!
Saturday, April 5th, 2 p.m.
at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 12635 IH-10 West (at De Zavala), San Antonio, TX
Come listen toJacqueline Mendez, Marie Delgado Travis, and Angela Cervantes, three contributing authors to this series as they share their heart-warming and inspiring stories celebrating the Latino experience. The demand for this little successful book has ranked in the top-seller lists and was recently published in its translated Spanish version (March 2008). Invite your friends and family and come support your latina writers.
I haven't blogged in awhile, partly because it's been quite hectic lately, but mostly because my allergies took most of the energy I had throughout the day to even sit and write at night. As far as my second novel, well, I've managed to get through the first chapter, but that's as far as I've gotten. I'm still sifting through alot of the research and deciding on the time period for the novel is still a little unclear. But anyway, today, I decided to blog about something that's been brewing inside me for awhile, and I felt I needed to get it off my chest.
Okay, so check this out...I'm at a local Wal-Mart today, doing some shopping with my little three-year-old, and I get to the checkout stand. I always tense right before I get to the aisle, because I worry about the type of magazines that are going to be on display. I make a quick dash ahead of the cart to flip over or cover some that I find appallingly offensive, before my daughter has a chance to see what I am doing. Most of the time, I cleverly distract her with my, "Look at that balloon!" remark or point to the candy rack to buy me some time, but that's usually at HEB where the rack is on one section and the magazines are across from it.
Today was an entirely different story. The candy rack was on the same side of the magazine display, and I began to feel an inner rage ready to burst out of my skin as I flung some children's books that I was not going to buy to cover them. What am I talking about? I'm referring to the BOOBfest that is splattered all over the magazine covers with titles like, "Better Sex Today," or something referring to pleasing your man in 100 different ways—who knows, they all start to sound the same after awhile; or the Sports Illustrated model on the cover wearing nothing but a cascading array of beaded necklaces on her neck-- uh-- excuse me? What does that have to do with sports? And it doesn't end here, there is also a woman on some Spanish version of Star magazine wearing nothing but what seemed like the remnants of a string bikini—definitely leaving nothing for the imagination.
Granted, my daughter doesn't know how to read yet, or understand what's going on, but I thought to myself, "What about the moms who have young impressionable girls or teenagers who can read? What messages do these magazines tell them about what society values in a woman?" It sickens me that we still live in a culture where women are objectified the way they are. It's everywhere I go. On billboards, commercials, movies, sitcoms, books, magazines-- ALL OF THEM, sending the message that the only way you are valuable is if you can offer something that is sexually pleasing to men. Whatever happened to INTELLIGENCE? GRACE? (something I definitely need to work on, but that's beside the point) MODESTY? COURAGE? STRENGTH? We, as women, have all those attributes, but unfortunately the only thing that is appreciated is T&A, because that is the only thing emphasized in today's media. I mean, I kid you not. I could be wrong, and I often am, but let's examine the facts. The next time you go to a grocery store, count the number of magazines with men splattered on it and the number of women. Then, compare the postures and manner of dress—and don't get me started on the titles. Just last week, I counted twenty-one magazines of women posing in full body shots—cleavage and provocative wear included. I only counted THREE magazines, YES, THREE mind you with men whose HEADshots were displayed on the front cover looking dashing, smart and sophisticated. One, I remember distinctly dealt with George Clooney's interest in politics. Excluding Hillary, were there any about female astronauts, humanitarians, etc? NOPE!
Where's the JUSTICE?! Our early feminist pioneers would be turning in their grave if they took a look at our world today—this is certainly not what they meant about the women's liberation movement.
That explains why you have teenage girls requesting nose or boob jobs on their sixteenth birthdays. Or better yet-- and trust me with this (I was a middle school teacher) you have eleven, twelve and thirteen-year-olds performing acts in the back of the school that I don't feel comfortable mentioning just so they can be liked. It's no wonder that according to the National Association of Domestic Violence, 1 in every 4 women between the ages of 20-24 will experience domestic violence in her lifetime-- one out of every four? Well that explains it, if we're constantly bombarding men with messages that we are merely sex toys, then we are certainly their possessions and should behave in a way that is pleasing to their needs, or they are free to enforce discipline as they see fit. I'm being sarcastic here, of course, but are there shades of truth to this statement? Consider this, according to Lundy Bancroft, author of Why does he do that? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, after fifteen years of working as a counselor with abusive men, Bancroft found that one of the contributing factors that lead to a man abusing a woman is his sense of entitlement to abuse her. Where does he pick up this entitlement? From the social cues of his culture through the media. Bundy claims that "from a combination of the cultural influences, he develops an image of his future…picturing a woman who is beautiful, alluring, and focused entirely on meeting his needs—one who has no needs of her own that might require sacrifice or effort on his part…his childhood fantasy collides with the real-life young woman he is seeing… the abusive man feels cheated, ripped off, and wronged, because his sense of entitlement is so badly distorting his perceptions of right and wrong."
I mean C'MON, help me out here, am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with this? Let me relate an example, I constantly see titles on magazines and books about losing weight, as if losing weight is the only key defining act that will make you a better person. Don't get me wrong, it's important to be healthy, but when your whole sense of security revolves around meeting a certain standard of thinness and beauty, you have to ask yourself, is this what I truly value as important? How I look?!
There is so...so...so much more to us women than being sexy. We also have a STRONG side, for without it, we couldn't bear children or move on in times of adversity; A BRAVE side that we use when we have to face the world alone; an INTELLIGENT side that has allowed us to become doctors, lawyers, architects, scientists, politicians, sports stars, and even writers; and a SPIRITUAL side that allows us to lean on GOD (the only one who will never disappoint us) if we invite him into our hearts to guide us.
But no one will ever appreciate all those qualities if we continue to allow the media to dictate to us that our bodies are the only thing that makes us valuable. Is this want you want for your daughter? If the answer is emphatic NO, then something has got to change. There are so many young girls out there who need to hear a different message. How can we band together to help them? Does anyone have any suggestions? I mean seriously... am I the only one who is outraged?
I know that some of you tried to get on the Skype show last week to listen in and participate on my interview, but there was a major technicial malfunction with its server that night. Therefore, it was postponed and rescheduled for this Friday at 10 p.m. with Pro1gear virtual studios. Hope to see you there!
Calling all teenagers! Express yourself...
Current mood: curious
Hi! For those of you who dont know who I am, I am an author who recently published a book for young adults titled, "Heart of the Jaguar."
I'm currently working on two projects: writing my prequel and working on character profiles for my sequel. I am in need of your help. I used to teach as a middle school teacher about four years ago and was up to date with the current lingo. But staying at home with my little one has left me out of the loop. Here's where you come in...
I want to know what some of the usual phrases are that you use to express yourself. You know... that strange secretative language you speak in that requires an intrepreter when speaking to the grown ups. You've evolved so much from my time when things like DUDE, AWESOME, TOTALLY RAD, and GAG ME WITH A SPOON were easily understood. Although... I dont think my parents saw it that way.
Anyway, if you could help me out with some, I would really appreciate you sending them my way. By the way, do you still say, "Cool Kicks!" for cool looking shoes? or "He's totally Jones-ing on you" for He really likes you?
Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you soon!
Sneak peek at my Prequel Chapter 1 draft
Current mood: tired
Well, it's getting close to midnight and I'm getting ready to turn in for the night. The baby's asleep, the dishes washed, and I've got two loaded baskets of clean laundry beckoning me to fold. I've just finished making notes for my very talented husband (www.sonnymendez.com) who's helping me with the music (thank God I have a musician at my disposal) for my up and coming audiobook to the first book, and I'm no where close to finishing that up.
I've received several emails from people who read HEART OF THE JAGUAR to ask when the prequel was coming out, and I have to admit that it has been a very sloooww process.
For those of you who have not read the book, the story is about a young girl named Nina who discovers that she is linked to the infamous Llorona, the weeping woman well-known for drowning children near bodies of water. In this novel, a man who calls himself the Soultracker has been looking for Nina's soul for about 500 years. When he finally finds her in her hometown of Southbay, he confesses that he almost had her back in the 1800's but lost her.
My prequel will detail the events that transpired when he met her back then. So anyway, I've been doing alot of research because I want to include some really cool stuff about the inhabitants of the Southwest prior to the U.S. purchase from Mexico. I've always been fascinated with that portion of history that I didn't learn about when I was in school and would like to include elements of information about that in my fantasy storyline.
So, anyway, I've decided to include my first draft to the first chapter. I haven't come up with a title yet, or exact time period, because I'm still researching, but if any of you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to post. I value what my readers have to say... but please keep in mind that this is a skeleton version of the first chapter and is subject to change when I revise. I better get to bed...all the words are starting to blend together, and I think I'm repeating myself. God bless you and I wish you much success this year with accomplishing your goals and dreams! Love and blessings, JAX
Prequel- Chapter 1 (first draft)
"We found another cow, jefe." The ranch hand sat on his haunches and poked at the lifeless creature with a stick. Tilting its neck to one side, he noticed two small incisions about an inch apart from each other on its skin. "Carcass was sucked dry again—not a single drop of blood..." he yelled over his shoulder to the foreman who was dismounting from his saddle.
"Dang!" spat the foreman. A large tobacco wad projected out of his mouth, andplopped on the dusty red New Mexico sand."The boss isn't gonna be happy with this—third one this month."He surveyed the rough terrain looking for signs of bandits. There was nothing but the canyons', red rock walls with its overhanging ledges, towering from the desert sand several thousand feet up in the air that seemed to touch the flaming sun in the sky. The only thieves there were the ones who aroused his suspicion when he caught the circling route of vultures in the air just two miles away from the hacienda.
"It's those damn Apaches, I'm telling you, and their pinche brujeria," swore the ranch hand. "They're trying to drive us away like they did Don Jose from Santa Fe. It's bad enough we have to worry about those damn gringos coming into our territory—now this!"He broke the stick in half on his knee and flung it on the barren dessert floor.
"Enough talk about their magic, Felipe. No one is gonna scare us away from this land. Don Ramon and his family have been here for over 200 years, and they don't intend to go anywhere."
"You think Don Ramon is gonna stop them?! He lost his marbles the moment he let that—that—that WOMAN run his ranch!!! What happened to the days when men were men and the women knew their place in this world?! We're doomed now for sure I'm telling you…"
" I think you ought a stop before you pop a vein, amigo—you tend to forget what your place is, and if I were you, I'd keep my mouth shut when it comes to Don Ramon's daughters…"
"Ay whey! I forgot you had a big itch for the oldest one. You think the jefe is actually gonna to take you in with open arms for your loyalty? Did you forget who we are or where we come from, compadre? People like that don't marry indios, so if I were you, I'd look the other way. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."
"Why don't you just stick to cattle herding and—nobody—will get hurt!"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! I seem to have touched a weak spot, eh? Well don't say I didn't warn you… and speaking of the devil… here she comes."He pointed to a cloud of dust in the distance. Daniela, the youngest of three of Don Ramon's daughters rode in as freely as an untamed mustang, charging wild in the wind. Her long, golden hair took on a gravity of its own as it lifted loosely close behind her. She unloaded her horse dressed in a long-sleeve buttoned down shirt to protect her porcelain skin from the scorching sun, along with leather chaps and cowboy boots, masking the shape of her hourglass figure.
Felipe clicked his tongue and nodded, "What a waste…" he whispered into the foreman's ear. Then, he cast Daniela a golden smile from ear-to-ear, before removing his straw-rimmed hat.
"Felipe… Esteban… what news do you have for me?" Daniela didn't see the dead carcass behind the two hired hands standing right in front of it.
"Senorita… I'm afraid we have some bad news… we found another one just like the last two…" Esteban looked at her hands and noticed her fists clench under her leather-worn gloves…
"Behind you?" Daniela stretched her neck to look over Felipe's shoulder so she could catch a glimpse of the dead animal.
"It's best if you don't, Senorita, I'm afraid it's not made for your beautiful eyes to see…" Felipe interjected as she made a motion for them to move out of the way.
"It's my animal, Felipe…and I look at what I see fit."
Daniela was a force to be reckoned with, and no one ever told her what to do, or how to run things. Don Ramon was expecting a boy. He was to name him Daniel, after his great-great grandfather, who traveled with Juan de Onate on his first expedition to New Mexico and proud establisher of Don Ramon's hacienda.Dona Maria was hoping that this would be the last child as the second one, Isabella, nearly killed her when she was born. She was a petite woman with a weak heart, but gave in after her husband's many entreaties to try for that male child who would be the heir of his 200 yr.old hacienda, and the one to carry his father's legacy into the next generation. She was named, Daniela—and she never came to know her mother. The doctor said it was a blood hemorrhage, but Don Ramon knew that it was her weak heart that gave out shortly after her delivery. He never forgave himself for losing the love of his life over his stupid "male pride." And if it weren't for Daniela's determined spirit to win her father's affection, he would have put a gun into his mouth and shot himself when he had the chance. She was determined to be the boy he always wanted, and to show him that she could do anything a son would. He indulged her every whim and in return she dove into all of her father's interests, including cattle branding, raising and herding.
If it wasn't for her grandmother, Dona Felix, who felt it necessary that she get a solid catholic and lady-like upbringing, she would have been raised "picking fights with the local servants, spitting out in the streets and scratching herself in public." Yes, Dona Felix ran the household with a firm hand and loving heart, but Daniela was determined to make her father proud and that often interfered with her grandmother's plans to find her a decent suitor—not that she didn't have trouble turning heads, for her fair skin and beautiful grey-blue eyes were often the main attraction. But finding a man who respected the idea of her running her father's hacienda was like asking God to rain down drops of gold.
"Take it and burn it in the pit… we'll need to double the watch to four men per shift. Comb the area for signs of Apache tracks…and Esteban… do what it takes to stop the losses. We can't afford to lose anymore…"
"I'm sorry Senorita, but we don't have enough men to cover the shifts… so many of them have left to go mine for gold in California, and—"
"Whatever it takes Esteban… I don't want any excuses, am I clear?"
"Si, Senorita…" He placed his straw hat on his head and tapped the brim with a bow.
Before Daniela mounted her horse she scanned her surroundings and glanced at the untouched trails leading past large barrel cacti, agaves, yuccas, trees and spiky ocotillo that dressed the landscape of this barren dessert. A coyote's cry could be heard miles away, and she wondered if she could put a stop to this mysterious puzzle that was taking her herd one by one. Perhaps the whisperings of rumored Apache attacks were true. She had heard about their mystical powers and an unsettled wave of fear rumbled in her gut. Whomever or whatever it was, she had to put a stop to it soon. The servants already wrestled with her ability to run the ranch ever since her father made the announcement. Servants were servants but the idea of placing a woman in charge over their security was enough to invite mutiny if things went bad. Signs of revolt were everywhere. Just last week she received word from her cousin in Mexico that the Indians were calling for a revolution and independence from Spain. If word got out about this revolution at their ranch, there was no doubt in her mind that the Indians would quickly forget how well her father had treated them, and cause an uprising at the hacienda. She placed her foot on the stirrup and swung over her horse, scanning the territory for more signs. Then, in a flash, she rode away.
"I guess we know who wears the pants around here, eh, amigo?" Felipe grinned.
"Why don't you just shut up and help me put this animal up on the cart, before we get eaten by more of those things…"
The coyote's cry was soon accompanied by the sound of others joining its chorus. Dusk was creeping its way into the landscape as two eyes stared out secretly from behind a yucca plant in the hot desert sand…
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tired
accomplished
ecstatic
excited
Book Reading and
angry
curious
