Surviving Santiago

Last night I took a drive to Manhattan’s Lower East Side to celebrate the launch of Surviving Santiago, my friend Lyn Miller-Lachmann’s latest book.

Lyn was one of the first people I met in the wonderful world of publishing.  It was a few months before my own novel came out.  She reviewed it for her blog, The Pirate Tree, and then interviewed me for her column in the Albany Times Union.  She was an early and vocal champion of my book, for which I’ll always be grateful.  In fact, she so loved that my publisher would put out a book like mine, tackling the political issue of immigration, that she approached them about Surviving Santiago.  (How cool is that?).  So not only is it an awesome book, it’s published by Running Press, same as The Secret Side of Empty.

One thing I love about Lyn’s writing is that she too cares about important social issues.  Her first novel, Gringolandia, is the story of the son of a Chilean political prisoner and the effects of the father’s incarceration (and release) on the family.  Surviving Santiago is a sequel of sorts… the story of the little sister in Gringolandia, now a teenager herself.

The jam-packed launch party was held at Bluestockings Books on Allen Street in New York, “a 100% volunteer-powered and collectively-owned radical bookstore, fair trade cafe, and activist center in the Lower East Side.”  Loved this awesome space!

Surviving Santiago is getting some great reviews.  Kirkus Reviews said, “Smooth dialogue, a quick pace, and palpable suspense combine to make a compelling read.”  Read more reviews and accolades: click here.

Congrats, Lyn!