Havana Blues by David Pereda - Book Blitz + Giveaway
Havana Blues
by David Pereda
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GENRE: Historical Coming-of-Age novel
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BLURB:
The year is 1952 and Ramon Rodriguez’s life as a teenager in fun-loving Havana is filled with typical
activities and concerns: girls, education, religion, baseball, parties, and hanging out with friends.
The country is enjoying a period of prosperity and happiness--until General Batista stages a coup
that topples the government and Ramon’s life is flung into chaos.
activities and concerns: girls, education, religion, baseball, parties, and hanging out with friends.
The country is enjoying a period of prosperity and happiness--until General Batista stages a coup
that topples the government and Ramon’s life is flung into chaos.
In a few short years, the carefree fifties morph into a vicious and repressive dictatorship highlighted
by corruption, organized gambling, school closures, student demonstrations, police brutality,
and assassinations.
by corruption, organized gambling, school closures, student demonstrations, police brutality,
and assassinations.
As Ramon experiences the thrills of his first romantic relationship, graduates from school,
and struggles to plan for an uncertain future, he is forced to make important decisions that may
be dangerous to him, his family, his friends, and his girlfriend – the beautiful Sonia -- and could turn
deadly.
and struggles to plan for an uncertain future, he is forced to make important decisions that may
be dangerous to him, his family, his friends, and his girlfriend – the beautiful Sonia -- and could turn
deadly.
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EXCERPT
A car turned the corner with a screeching of tires. With
mechanical harmony, another screeching echoed from the opposite
direction.
Siren noises combined to wreck the peacefulness and drown my
father’s voice as two cars skidded face to face in front of my house. I
recognized the blue and white stripes. Car doors opened and
slammed. A stream of policemen armed with rifles and machine guns
crashed through the garden door and spilled over our garden like
insects.
My mother shrieked once. My father stood paralyzed.
I stared in growing disbelief at the bulk who loped into the
garden and stopped just outside the bright range of the porch lights.
The clean-shaven face, the brittle smile, were familiar to me. So was
the voice.
‘Buenas noches,’ Santana said. ‘Lovely night, isn’t it?’
Even with a veneer of politeness, Santana’s voice made the hair
in the back of my neck stand on end.
‘What's the meaning of this?’ my father asked, surprising me.
‘Crashing into our house, as if we were common criminals.’
Santana’s stare was cold. ‘Just doing my duty, Señor Rodriguez.’
He turned to me, smoothing out the front of my dinner jacket
with his hand. ‘You're very elegant tonight,’ he said. ‘Don’t tell me,
let me guess. You were at the Club Profesionales, weren’t you?’
‘Yes, we were,’ my mother said sharply, ‘and we had to leave
because of some terrorists. Disgusting. And on his graduation dance
night too.’ She glared at Santana.
He gave her a polite smile, more of a smirk, and turned to me.
‘Being in the building as you were, you could have planted that bomb
very easily, couldn’t you?’
‘What? You think I…? No!’
‘No what?’
‘No, I couldn’t.’ My heart pounded in my chest. ‘My mother can
testify to that.’
My mother had turned a chalky white and her lips were open
and round like an O. She seemed at a loss for words.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
David Pereda was born in Havana, Cuba. The award-winning author of seven previous novels,
he enjoys crafting political thrillers and edgy mainstream novels with unique characters placed
in exotic settings. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages.
Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international
consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments
of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.
he enjoys crafting political thrillers and edgy mainstream novels with unique characters placed
in exotic settings. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages.
Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international
consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments
of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.
A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California.
e earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida
in Tampa.
e earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida
in Tampa.
He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches
mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an
accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.
mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an
accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.
Buy links:
Amazon:
Barnes and Noble:
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
David Pereda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner
via rafflecopter during the tour.
via rafflecopter during the tour.
10 Comments
I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
DeleteI want to thank you for hosting me in your blog today. I'll be checking in and out throughout the day -- before, in-between and after my classes -- to answer questions or respond to comments from your readers about Havana Blues, my next upcoming book to be released in March, or any other topic regarding my writing. As a special concession, my publisher has reduced the price of the Kindle book on Amazon to only $2.99 and the print book to $17.55 during the length of the Goddess Fish Blog Tour. Again, my thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome! Always happy to help out. :)
DeleteThank you, Lisa. It has been a fun tour.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the tour and thank you for the excerpt and giveaway. I appreciate the opportunity to win.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you Victoria and James. Good luck to both of you on the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your book. Thanks for hosting the giveaway. Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com
ReplyDeletePlease try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.