Please welcome Ellen W. Martin author of Sons of Cuba Series
Ellen W. Martin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Sons of Cuba Series
byEllen W. Martin
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GENRE: Historical fiction
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INTERVIEW:
ARE YOU PLOTTING BUNNIES, ANGELS, OR DEMONS?
Definitely demons. I’ve written four books now starting with my historical fiction SONS OF CUBA, a two book series already on the market. I challenge you to find one person you know personally, who you’re familiar with, who are famous, etc. that does not have at least one skeleton in their closet. There is a story to be written about each one of those personalities. Some definitely more interesting than others, but a story does exist.
WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER IN THE BOOK? CAN YOU TELL US WHY?
Rafaela Zamá, the Santería priestess. This mysterious, mystical character, zips in and out of the life of my main character in an attempt to control his destiny. Sometimes she saves him and sometimes she is a thorn in his side, but no matter which or what it is, she is there trying to steer him in the direction she believes “her gods” have commanded. At almost every turn she is met with resistance until she finally sets her sights on another in BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING with the ultimate goal to mold the right person to secure Cuba’s future for the right reasons.
SNEEK PEAK from BOOK I – SONS OF CUBA-PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION:
Felipe ran forward. He pushed his way through the crowd and knelt beside the fallen man. Blood spurt from Gaitán’s wound and soaked Felipe’s white coat.
The crowd pushed in close. Suddenly a hand grabbed Felipe’s shoulder. Warm breath brushed against his face. “Beware,” a throaty voice whispered, “you will be unjustly accused.”
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH YOUR IDEA FOR YOUR NOVEL?
A five-year old Cuban boy found floating off the coast of Florida in 1999. His mother drowned when she and thirteen others risked the ninety-mile crossing from Cuba to the shores of the United States seeking a better way of life. The following is an excerpt from BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING. I chose this particular scene to illustrate how the real mother must have felt when their boat sank and she left her son floating off the coast of Florida
SNEEK PEEK from BOOK II –SONS OF CUBA-HOMECOMING:I chose this particular scene to illustrate how the real mother must have felt those last moments before she drowned and left her son floating off the coast of Florida:
Tangi and Andrés slipped into the violent sea. She held her son in a death grip. Their bodies rose and fell with each angry wave; rain pelted them.
Andrés squeezed his mother’s neck, choking her. “Mama, Mama, don’t let go! I’m afraid.”
Tangi swallowed salt water, coughed, “I’m here, Andrés. I won’t let go. You’ll be fine.”
A round life preserver from the fishing boat drifted toward them on an oncoming swell. Tangi quickly grabbed it. “I’m going to put this over your head,” she said. “Once you’re in it, hold on. Don’t let go. This will take you to safety.”
Andrés nodded, reached his arms through the preserver, and held on. “Mama, I’m cold,” he said.
“I know, baby, I know. But try and think about something else,” she said. “Someone will save us soon.” The lie burned her tongue. No one was going to save them. They both were going to die.
DO YOU OUTLINE YOUR BOOKS OR JUST START WRITING:
There is always a little outlining, but the idea comes first. In almost every instance my ideas spring from some social issue that I either question, want to know more about, are obsessively curious about, or just make me scream injustice. Once the idea begins to form, the characters created, I usually start writing. As each scene unfolds and a chapter is completed, I will stop find a quiet place and think about where the story goes next. Sometimes I find the solution. Sometimes my characters take over and tell me in what direction they want to go. I’m definitely a by the seat of the pants writer and not a planner.
DO YOU BELONG TO A CRITIQUE GROUP? IF SO HOW DOES THIS HELP OR HINDER YOUR WRITING?
I belonged to first an online critique group, and then a small group of us organized our own writer’s critique group for our small town in Northwest Florida called Emerald Coast Writers. We were very active for about eight years. We successfully managed to offer local writing conferences giving our writers the opportunity to meet and show our work to agents and publishers. Whether you choose an online critique group, join a local one, or even start your own group, this type of support is a must if a writer hopes to improve their skills and technique. I don’t know how a writer just beginning can survive without one.
AS FAR AS YOUR WRITING GOES, WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS?
In just this last year (2019-2020) I published the two book series SONS OF CUBA. This book set dormant in my computer files for over twenty-years until my husband and friends urged me to publish.
My third book, a suspense/thriller entitled INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN-SNARED BY THEIR OWN LIES will be released in late October 2020.
Living in a self-quarantined world imposed by the invasion of Covid 19 this spring, I refused to spend all my time in front of a TV or walking endlessly around my block, so I sat my butt down in front of the computer and wrote the first draft of my fourth book in about eight to ten weeks entitled SHATTERED LOYALTIES.
Check out my website www.booksbyellen.comfor more information about all my books.
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR CREATIVITY?
I truly wish I knew the answer to this question. The only half-reasonable answer is to trust there will always be something or someone who will trigger an interesting plot idea and I will have the energy and creativity to run with it.
CAN YOU GIVE US A SNEAK PEAK INTO YOUR BOOKS?
See the second and third interview question that offer a small excerpt from the two book series.
WHAT WOULD YOU WANT YOUR READERS TO KNOW ABOUT YOU THAT MIGHT NOT BE IN YOUR BIO?
I have always been a dreamer, a person who sought adventure and intrigue. When I was in my twenties I was given the opportunity as a Flight Attendant for Saturn Airways, a Charter Airline that opened the door of the world to me from both shores of the United States, to Europe, and Asia. The most exciting part of that life was living in the Philippines and transporting U.S. troops in and out of the warzones of Viet Nam.
I’m older now and those days are part of my past. Writing fiction affords me the opportunity to relive my youth creating stories of suspense and intrigue from the safety of my home.
BLURB:
BLURB FOR BOOK I AND BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA
Relentless political turmoil streams through the veins of Cuba like lava coursing down the side of a volcano holding the Cuban people hostage to tyranny since Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean Island. One wonders if the country’s destiny can ever change.
In BOOK I – SONS OF CUBA – PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION Felipe Cardena, the rebel, endures lost love, the exhilaration of victory, demoralizing disappoints, imprisonment, exile, and an assassination attempt. Nothing will stop Felipe Cardena until he achieves his ultimate goal — free Cuba from tyranny.
In BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING after victory is declared by the Cuban rebels, the plot shifts away from the revolution and centers on Tangi Montolio, a fiery redheaded activist who once was one of the rebel leader’s most passionate supporters. Tangi and her family become a victim and suffers under the hands of Felipe Cardena’s new leadership. The rebel now turned dictator will discover that his brief interaction with Tangi will lead to the destruction of his legacy.
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EXCERPT:
BOOK I – SONS OF CUBA – PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION
“FELIPE... Felipe Cardena,” the old man whispered, shaking the young recruit. “Wake up, you must hurry.”
“Wha... what is it?”
“El Presidente is sending the Cuban Navy to intercept this ship. He canceled the invasion of Santo Domingo.”
Felipe yawned and rolled over “So what? Maybe he changed his plans.”
The man dug his fingernails deep into Felipe’s shoulder. “Yes, there’s been a change in plans. A revolution may start any day and you’re on the wrong side.”
Felipe rolled over on the hard steel deck of the frigate’s makeshift dormitory, fought the sleepiness lingering in his head. He grabbed his heavy boots and shoved them on his feet trying not to wake the nearby soldiers.
He looked over at the old man. “Who the hell are you?” he whispered, fumbling with his laces.
“That’s not important. What’s important is Salabarrìa’s police shot and killed Emilio Trò. Fires are burning in the streets of Havana; mobs are overturning cars and buses. The rumor is that the troops on this ship are heading back to Havana to overthrow the Cuban government instead of liberating Santo Domingo. No one on this frigate is to be trusted. That includes you, my young amígo.”
Felipe rolled his sleeping bag, picked up his machine gun and backpack. He waited a moment for his eyes to focus in the darkness. Sounds of snoring and the odor of week-old sweat saturated the stale air in the lower deck.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
After a lifetime of personal adventures, travel and escapades (a lot of risky escapades), author Ellen Martin, is living her sunset years bouncing around a tennis court or clicking away on her keyboard.
Outrage at social injustices, the thrill for suspense, and unraveling a good mystery are triggers that motivate Ellen to write memorable stories and colorful characters.
Over 30 years as a military wife, she has resided both in the Orient and in Europe where she became no stranger to social injustice and poverty. She and her family have lived in the Philippines, Japan, Italy, and the Netherlands — not to mention both U.S. coasts and Kansas in the winter. She is fascinated by real-life, colorful personalities.
On a more personal note Ellen was a flight attendant for the Charter Airline Saturn in the 1960’s. Her job was escorting United States troops in and out of Viet Nam. Her adventures in the war zone continued until she was swept away by her fighter pilot husband.
After retirement the couple’s travels included Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungry, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland and topped off with a visit to Cuba.
God gifted Ellen with one “perfect” son and three grandchildren.
You wrap all this in a package and Ellen has been rewarded with an endless supply of fodder for her fiction.
In her historical fiction Book-I SONS OF CUBA–PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION she weaves an embellished tale of the most notorious and charismatic Cuban rebel in modern history. There’s a chance you might find him charming, intriguing and actually root for him in his early endeavors to free his beloved Cuba from tyranny.
However, in Book II - SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the story takes the reader from the rebel’s exile in Mexico to preparation for the revolution from the Mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This is where you will meet the fiery redheaded peasant girl, Tangi. The narrative shifts its focus from the revolution and centers around the fictional character, Tangi, and her family’s struggles, fears and disappointments in the new regime.
How the story in real life ends is no secret. But, in Book II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the characters and the author may just get the last word.
In 2020 Ellen’s new book INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN turns from historical events to present day reality – Terrorism — terrorism in our own backyard.
Check out her website for excerpts from her books: https://www.booksbyellen.com
Amazon buy links:
Prelude to Revolution
https://www.amazon.com/SONS-CUBA-BOOK-Prelude-Revolution-ebook/dp/B081LMXDHK/
Homecoming
https://www.amazon.com/SONS-CUBA-BOOK-II-HOMECOMING-ebook/dp/B082WSVJT6/
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:
Ellen W. Martin will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f3498
