Lone Star Legend

Sandy has a blog, and a boyfriend, only one of which excites her. She posts about her boyfriend Daniel and his insensitive ways under a pseudonym, assuming no one she knows will ever see it. Then she gets a real job blogging about celebrities and becoming a mini celebrity of her own. She starts talking to Tio Jaime, aka "the Chupacabra," a nickname she makes up that makes him extremely popular. He doles out advice to her readers and viewers, and it isn't until his nephew decides he should stop letting her interview him that Sandy realizes how much she misses spending time with the older man. Told in prose as well as blog posts, some of the themes of Lone Star Legend will be familiar to any blogger - Sandy grapples with how much to share, and gets called out for some of her mean-spirited posts. I appreciated that while her relationship status is in the mix here, it isn't the main focus of the book, her work and her search for fulfillment as a writer is. Zepeda has a lot of fun with the celebrity skewering and Sandy's meddling boss, not to mention Daniel's pretentious poetry. Sandy is certainly a flawed heroine, but she owns up to her flaws and tries to fix her mistakes as best she can. A humorous chick lit read that explores the life of a professional blogger, with a conscience.

On paper fame and fortune sound invigorating and exciting. But the fantasy of being an internet legend is not what the reality plays itself out to be just ask Sandy Saavedra. Sandy discovers that when people find out your secrets they are less than kind about their choice of words and when they are aimed at you the hurt can't be fixed with a simply I'm sorry. Sandy started out her writing career with a legitimate news organization that got bought by an entertainment organization looking for gossip, rumors and trash talk. The internet readers needed what Sandy could produce; quick spots with allot of information in a quick sound byte. Sandy got the web browsers viewing, talking and communicating but not just about her articles but about her personally. Her ex-boyfriend, current love life situation and anything that looked like it could be controversial was food for the masses. Sandy kept what she thought was anonymous blog about her life but quickly learned nothing is a secret on the world wide web because everyone and anyone can find out who you are and turn your personal information against you. She stressed out family, wore down her friends and commuted around the country looking like the made-up doll her boss had created. But was this the real Sandy or a disguise she created to keep the hurt inside and not be offended by the damage her "fans" could do to her. The only haven in her life is the elder gentleman she makes friends with while cleaning out her late aunt's home. She finds he is a calm in the storm that her life becomes and learns the lessons of life from someone who has lived them but didn't feel the need to broadcast them to everyone. She uses his folksy wisdom to her advantage for a period of time but once the true Sandy comes back from her blogging hiatus real life becomes better than the fantasy life she was looking for. What a wonderful surprise this book turned out to be. It was not that I did not expect it to be good as Ms. Zepeda's books are a treasure but this book stands out because of Sandy and her convictions. Sandy is a fighter yes but she is a rare gem in the world of news as she has a conscious and while it does go on vacation for awhile when it comes back she shows the world what she is about. Sandy is a woman with a statement to be made - I have a brain and a heart and will use both simultaneously. Mary Gramlich (The Reading Reviewer) [...]

Dominga Saavedra goes by Sandy. Sandy is the name that her mother had picked out based on her favorite musical, Grease. Sandy's boyfriend Daniel never goes by Danny, but that's never stopped Sandy's mother from giving him that moniker. As Sandy feels that she has to accommodate the people she loves, from her graduate student boyfriend Daniel to her prying (a.k.a. "concerned") mother to her employers. The one place that Sandy doesn't have to suppress her feelings or sugarcoat her reactions is on her new blog, My Modern TragiComedy. As MissTragiComic Texas, Sandy can say whatever she wants without fear. So she does! But when her old newspaper gets taken over by an online news and entertainment entity, Sandy has to learn to write for the Nacho Papi's Website. Serious journalism goes out the window as Sandy is asked to come up with short, exciting posts that generate hits. Nothing is off-limits, the more personal the better! Her new boss Angelica Villanueva O'Sullivan is trim, glamorous, and takes no prisoners. As Sandy revises her style, her look, and her life, she gradually realizes that the new Sandy isn't much of an improvement. Lone Star Legend and Sandy's story is made richer by Tio Jaime, an unexpected friend who teaches Sandy and her readers about generosity and keeping things real. Tio Jaime is incorporated into Sandy's site and writings as Chupacabre, the Wise Goat Man. Though Tio Jaime's refusal to sign the legal waiver foreshadows problems in the future. (Lawsuit waiting to happen, anyone?) A light, witty and heartwarming read, Lone Star Legend is sure to make you chuckle, wince (in sympathy), and cry. I recommend it highly! ISBN-10: 0446539600 - Paperback $13.00 Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; Original edition (January 25, 2010) 354 pages. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Reviewed by Connie Anderson Texas author Gwendolyn Zepeda's first book was "To the Last Man I Slept With and All the Jerks Like Him"-so you know she is an in-your-face kind of writer. All this fits very well with the storyline of "Lone Star Legend" that takes place in Texas where the heroine, Sandy S (legal name Dominga Saavedra) writes for a Latino Web site that really goes after Latinos in the public eye-actors, writers, etc. Sandy has two blogs, a personal one called My Modern TragiComedy, and the one she writes for the popular Latino Now! Somewhat an idealist, and a lot naïve, she spews out some very hurtful stuff about her recently ex boyfriend-and her divorced parents, especially her mom. However, she says enough identifiable information that people start to know it is her, and then recognize her. The comments about her blog entries run from funny, to supportive to mean. When readers connect the two blogs, the back and forth begins. How thick skinned is she? Can she dish it out to the Latinos in the public eye, but not be able to take it herself? When she is the focus of a blog post from a rival site, she has to decide whether she is going into hiding--or face this head-on. The Latino Now! bloggers make extra money based on the number of hits to their postings, and Sandy needs to keep coming up with ideas. When she and her mother went to clean out the home of a recently deceased aunt, they meet the neighbor, Tio Jaime. He has been keeping on eye on Aunt Linda's home while she has been ill, and everything is already all packed up. Sandy is intrigued by Tio and his wisdom, and soon he allows her to record him talking. When the video is posted, it becomes a hit, and people ask him questions. Sandy does more interviews-but she has not gotten Tio to sign the release to use them or his likeness-anywhere, anyhow. He becomes a mythical Chupacabra, revered in legends, and the viewers can't get enough of his sage advice. Lots of backstabbing, 21st Century style, via screen name hits. Is this demeaning others what it takes to make this Internet site a sensation? Can Sandy do this every day? When she is the victim of a cyber attack, her wise mother said (paraphrasing), "what made you think they wouldn't figure out it was you?" and, "if you wouldn't say it to his face, why would you say it online for all the world to read?" Is there a message here? Throw in a little romance, Tio's suspicious lawyer nephew, Sandy's conscience, her reconciliation with her mother-and you have a book filled with rich descriptions of action, emotions and people-all combined with her storytelling to give a really good page-turner read.

In Lone Star Legend by Gwendolyn Zepeda the Latina heroine Dominga Saavedra a.k.a. Sandy S. is a serious young writer for a respected web site LatinoNow as well as the keeper of an anonymous personal blog My Modern TragiComedy. All of this changes when LatinoNow is transformed into Nacho Papi, a gossipy Latino web site. The novel follows Sandy S.'s dance with the devils at Nacho Papi who offer nuggets of fame and fortune in exchange for journalistic integrity. To stay gainfully employed Sandy undergoes a personal makeover and learns to write snarky celebrity copy. Soon Sandy S. becomes a minor celebrity with all of the corresponding benefits and detriments that go with living in the public eye. She also befriends an elderly goat farmer, "the Chupacabra" (literally translated as the goat sucker) who offers Sandy S. and her readers common sense advice. Although Lone Star Legend follows a fairly predictable plotline trajectory, the characters and blog entries are unique and refreshing! Zepeda knows how to craft witty passages and interesting characters. In addition, the book also features a bilingual reading guide with great discussion questions. Lone Star Legend is a fun multicultural read! Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (January 25, 2010), 352 pages Advance Review Copy Provided Courtesy of the Publisher.