Author: ssand1984

Neighborhood Watch             The sound of thunder raced across the street in the form of two moving trucks from Lopez furniture store. Sitting outside on his favorite swing was Santos Morelo. From his vantage point, it looked like someone was finally moving into the old Pecina house across the street. It had stood vacant for… Continue reading New Short Story

Like many manuscripts, mine started with a character and the need to tell his story. I put so much focus into writing for my main character that I neglected the rest of the manuscript. Setting, point of view, and dialogue just to name a few became casualties of my hyperfocus but in doing so, I… Continue reading A Reflection

What really excites me besides fiction writing is writing about food and more so being able to pass this skill along to others. This is why I want my expository writing course to be about food writing. The skills learned can of course be applied to any kind of nonfiction writing which is another benefit… Continue reading Some Ramblings on Teaching

I was having a bad case of writers’ block during one of early attempts at writing my second novel when I decided I needed a break. I was particularly having a hard time thinking of where my character was going to spend their fictional vacation at: the made up Valley City Lake or some other… Continue reading How a little history helped shape my new novel

Refugees in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley             It was a cold December morning and having arrived in downtown Mcallen, Texas to drop off my friend at the local greyhound station; I was stunned by what I encountered. The air was crisp and the weather had just dipped below 40 degrees forcing everyone… Continue reading McAllen Respite Center

            As funny as it sounds, the idea for my thesis novel Treasure Hills started on a Sunday morning back in November of 1993. I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas and part of our Sunday ritual, my dad would ask me to help him cook his weekly batch of frijoles… Continue reading Sundays with Dad

Why Book Jackets are STILL important             I started thinking about how my book jacket would look like and realized I had no clue where to start. I had been so focused on my manuscript that I hadn’t thought that much ahead of it. When the time to put one together, it became clear that… Continue reading Book Jackets

                One of my more recent discoveries is that of Blake Crouch author of Recursion, Dark Matter, and Upgrade. His new book Upgrade was just released a couple of weeks ago and is in full promotion mode for it. According to the News and Events page of his website he is having several different types… Continue reading Author Promotions

I have linked an interview that was done with myself and fellow author Kristen Smith. I will also include a transcript link if you prefer to read. Hope you all enjoy! Transcript https://otter.ai/u/f_og6uoxiWtKKN4MJd7z0XAVYGo

I just got done having an interview with fellow author and classmate Kristin Smith. It was awesome. I was nervous as it was my first time in an interview environment. I am hoping to post it soon with her permission. It was a fun and interesting conversation, and both of our novels were discussed and… Continue reading A little tease