Start Anew

I’ve started a new book. Lordy be. Geez, Louise. Gah! It’s a daunting place for me, and it brings a strange mix of anxiety and excitement.

As I considered taking the plunge, I had to summon equal parts courage and motivation. It takes me 2-4 years to write and edit a novel. Talk about a commitment. But, of course, I love it. I’m not creative in the way a painter is or someone who quilts. Writing is my creative outlet. I love words and phrases and how they can take people to new places and usher them into experiences they never imagined. Words have enormous power to make people think and feel.

The most significant elements of a story must be solidified before the first word is typed. By “elements,” I mean the plot, the protagonist, the antagonist, the moment that launches the protagonist on a journey, the world in which the characters live, and the novel’s purpose and tone.

I’ve decided not to write a sequel to Not That Kind of Call Girl at this time. Julia might be the best character I’ve ever crafted, and she certainly is the most “raw” and funny. But the story bouncing around my head is for young adults. In 2017 and 2022, I published two young adult novels under the name Diana J Noble. They are Evangelina Takes Flight and Chances in Disguise. Both occur in the early 1900s in Mexico and south Texas when the Mexican Revolution forced hundreds of thousands of Mexican citizens to flee their home country to find peace and safety. The website for these books is www.dianajnoble.com.

If you’re like me, you’ve read at least one young adult book (as an adult) and loved it. In my case, the two that immediately come to mind are The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Here’s the plot for my newest endeavor: Best friends Angel and Senoa slip away in the dark of night to march in a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest, but when shots are fired, the friends get separated, and one of them vanishes amid the chaos.

I NEED YOUR HELP, POR FAVOR

Tell me what you thought about the book, and if you would kindly do me a favor, post your review on every website you can think of, such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, TikTok, Instagram, your personal Facebook page, etc. Your vote of confidence in Not That Kind of Call Girl will go a long way in helping to promote the book. ¡Muchas gracias!

PS: Knowing that many of Julia’s experiences were my own, you might wonder how my son turned out. Well, as Mary Poppins might say, he’s practically perfect in every way. I’m not biased or anything!

Author Nova García hails from Laredo, Texas. Her Mexican-American family is a source of great pride. Not That Kind of Call Girl is her first book in the women’s fiction genre. Her first two books under the name Diana J Noble are Evangelina Takes Flight and Chances in Disguise, both historical fiction for young adults.