Maria J. Andrade was born in Ecuador, South America, and raised in New York and California. She has a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. As a licensed therapist and writer, Maria has been diving into other people’s minds and her own, through dreams, poetry, and books for over three decades. She traveled with the Four Winds Society where she studied and was initiated into Andean shamanism in 1990.
Before Maria retired as a therapist, she specialized in women’s issues and founded the Wise Women’s Circle a ritualistic and transpersonal study group that continues today. The women support each other through life’s challenges and in the growth of mind, body, and spirit.
Maria Andrade’s books for children and adults is found in a variety of genres. This is an unforgettable first novel that reflects her imagination and creative storytelling.
Defiance and Redemption is her latest release.
Visit her website at www.booksasfriends.com or connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
Thanks for this interview, Maria. Congratulations on your new book! Would you
say it’s been a rocky road for you in regards to getting your book written and
published or pretty much smooth sailing?
Can you tell us about your journey?
I think having a
good team has made it a smoother journey than it might have been. Writing a
story is only the very first step in a long journey. After your book is written
you will need a professional editor. In my case I translated my fiction novel, Defiance
and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds into Spanish. Therefore, I
also had to have a professional editor who spoke that language. It would have
been easier if the English editor also spoke Spanish, but it didn’t work out
that way. Each book had a different editor. Fortunately, the Spanish editor
read the English version in order to follow the story as accurately as
possible!
Once your book is
edited professionally, you must format it or have a professional do it.
I know nothing about formatting a book, but I worked with a
good formatter who transformed my manuscript into a regular book and in the
case of the English version, an e-book as well.
Months before the
book is published you should attempt to get reviews from professionals or book
influencers. I also had a Book Launch Team that was an important support to set
up a Virtual Book Launch Party and to get the word out about the book.
It has been a long
journey and even though I said it has been smoother than it might have been, I
think I made it harder on myself by doing a 77,000-word translation! However, I
am glad I did, because this fictional novel takes place in Latin America,
Ecuador, to be exact. It is based on true events about three special women in
my family. My main character’s journey is based on events in my mother’s life.
To honor my culture, I wanted a Latinx readership to also participate in
reading this story!
If you were to pen your own autobiography, what might the
title be?
I will be doing
just that in late 2022! I am playing with the title; Who Prays for the
Butterflies? and I have a photograph of a large swallow butterfly that once
landed on my hand which would grace the cover. I think it is fitting because
there have been some interesting, serendipitous events that brought me from an
unlovely world in the ghetto of New York to way of life in which the natural
world is central. This is a story about change, personal transformation that
continues.
When not writing, what do you like to do for relaxation
and/or fun?
I have an
extensive garden which I love to work in. I like to cook for friends and
family. I read books and write poetry. I also enjoy sharing my interests and
ideas with my husband of over thirty years.
What makes your book stand out from the rest?
I think the exotic landscape will make it
stand out. It allows readers to travel to Ecuador, South America where the
story takes place. Ecuador is a small country in the middle of the earth with
fifty volcanoes as its spine. Along with the page turning events in the life of
the three women in the novel, readers will also learn about the wondrous flora
and fauna of that country which rises from the Pacific Ocean, the Andes
snowcapped volcanic mountains, and contains part of the Amazon rain forest.
Moreover, the story takes place at a
dramatic and glamorous time in history when the first World War ends, and it
moves through the roaring 20s and 30s into the Second World War. Yet, it is all
viewed from a slightly distant perspective because Ecuador was not part of
those wars like much of the world was.
Readers, women as well as men, have been
moved by the story which reflects the ongoing struggles humanity has had with
racism, sexism, economic disparity, and elitism, in culture, society and
religion. In my story three women face those isms. People identity with these
strong female characters. No matter the country or culture, readers recognize
them as our grandmothers, mothers, sisters, and aunts who chose
self-determination over oppression and became immigrants seeking a new world
with greater opportunity for their children. This fiction novel holds the truth
that those characters were based on my family members who found that liberty in
the United States!
Can you give us the very first page of your book so that we
can get a glimpse inside?
Chapter 1
WAIT FOR ME
The national swimming champion, Eduardo Velasquez, lay dying
in a hospital bed in Ecuador, South America. His stomach was filled with
cancer. He had always lived for the present, so he rarely ever thought of his
death, least of all at fifty-two. In the hospital room were six of his
children. The eldest, Amalia, was standing close by his bedside. She was the
product of his relationship with the great passion of his life, Eva, a woman he
had loved and lost.
At the foot of
the bed, across the room, was Dolores, his wife of twenty years, and her
adolescent children. On the other side of his bed, seated by the wall, were two
young adult children from his extramarital affairs. He had brought these
children to his wife to raise when they were infants.
Many miles away,
two more of his illegitimate children would leave their jungle home and arrive
in threadbare clothing the following day to attend his funeral at La Immaculada
Concepción church. The two would enter the church, misspell their last name on
the guest roster and weep in each other’s arms. At the church, they would find
well-known sports figures, celebrities from the world of entertainment,
politicians, and the news media from various parts of South America. Many of
the citizens of Guayaquil would be there to file through the church and pay
their respects to their hero and champion.
Few in Eduardo’s
family would notice the two offspring until later. When their identities were
discovered, many would be shocked and outraged. Many, but not his daughter
Amalia. She loved her father with the bittersweet adoration her mother had
imbued in her. She loved him with blindness, which forgave him everything, his extramarital
affairs, his illegitimate children, even the fact that he had spent little time
in her life.
If your book was put in the holiday section of the store,
what holiday would that be and why?
I think, my book
could be celebrated on International Women’s Day which celebrates the hard
earned cultural, and political achievement of women. The female characters in
my book were women who were born in the early 20th Century. They did
not think of themselves as feminists, but they opened a path for other women.
Of course, their courage and self-determination came at a price. They were
scandalized and catapulted out of society. They lost their reputation, their
wealth, even their country. Yet the women kept their faith and their humor.
They supported each other and defied the oppressive worlds they experienced.
They found a way to redeem their future and the future of their children. Thus,
the title of my book, Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds.
Would you consider turning your book into a series or has
that already been done?
I haven’t given
it much thought. Right now, it is as if I have, with the Spanish translation
being published.
When you were young, did you ever see writing as a career or
full-time profession?
My childhood
friend, and I use to write plays and poetry when we were adolescents but I never thought I would be a writer. I didn’t even know
I had any talent until I won a contest in grade school for an essay on the topic of Hope
in eight grade and had to read it before the whole school. I was mortified to
do it. Nevertheless, at that age I wanted to be a singer although I was shy and
afraid of being before the public.
Did any of your books get rejected by publishers?
My self-help book
for couples, Heart Magic, Keeping Love Alive & Well, was rejected
numerous times by publishers. I was a licensed Marriage, Family, Child
Therapist at the time. So, I self-published it and it sold in counseling
circle, through other therapists and their clients, as well as my own. It is
still used as a small, powerful, guidebook to help people keep their
relationships loving, healthy and lasting.
What is your view on co-authoring books; have you done any?
I never have. I
think it works for some authors. A friend of mine, Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D.
began his writing career that way. Several of his books were co-authored. Now
he has become a successful author and specialist in the topic of shamanism of
the Americas.
What’s next for you?
I also write
books for children. You can see those books on my website: www.booksasfriends.com. The stories
focus on the power of loving relationships whether with humans or animals. In a few months, I will begin to work on a
book for children about going to dream land. There will be an audio part. It
will be found inside the book cover which parents can scan with their phones
for the children to hear. It will be a lullaby.
I mentioned I
will be working on an autobiography. Wish me luck!
Title: DEFIANCE AND REDEMPTION: A LIFETIME OF UNBROKEN BONDS
Author: Maria J. Andrade
Publisher: Clara Publishing
Pages: 250
Genre: Women’s Fiction/Historical Fiction/Magical Realism
BOOK BLURB:
Based on a true story, Defiance and Redemption, A Lifetime of Unbroken Bonds, brings to life the joys, dramas, and triumphs of two sisters, Eva and Victoria Alisio and their loyal friend Marta. The sisters are raised by their atheist Grandfather Marcus and religious Grandmother Maria Luisa. Eva, a proud and strong-willed young woman defies her family, society, and culture, faces scandal and disgrace, for her forbidden love affair. Victoria finds herself in the center of a multigenerational conflict as her benefactor bestows a great inheritance on her excluding the rightful heirs. Marta, loyal to the childhood bond with the Alisio sisters, brings humor and support to their twists and turns of fortune. The young women’s bond of love, and perseverance, carries them through ordinary and extraordinary losses, triumphs, and ultimately to their destiny in the United States.
An important novel about 20th Century women, Defiance and Redemption, is an absorbing epic that moves through decades and destinies. It blends personal and historical events into a collective tale of self-determination, love, and sisterhood.
PRAISE
“This book is an engrossing page turner which will pull you in and keep you cheering for your favorite actors until the very end! Defiance and Redemption is a unique book that tells a story that is both particular to a given time in Ecuador, but also universal in its themes of love, betrayal and survival.” – Nancy Mintie, Founder of Uncommon Good
“Reading Defiance and Redemption reminded me of a distant time when I read Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. Like these writers, Maria Andrade took me through a captivating journey of love and deep passion. Being gripped by the strong emotions that the characters possess and what they did in the end moved me profoundly.” – Maria Donovan, Retired Verizon Executive
“In Defiance and Redemption, Maria Andrade weaves together history, biography, and fiction into a romantic love and a story of three women that defy the ability of patriarchal culture to define them. We see the young women grow up to rise above the shame that tries to silence and limit them. They learn to find their voices and make sacrifices to be true to themselves as women. They leave behind all that they knew to make a better life for themselves and their daughters. This is a book to remind women of all ages where we came from, and what it took to break out and thrive nearly a century ago. Women like these paved the way for all who came after and have the rights we have today.” – Nancy Poitou, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
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