Category: News

My husband is a six foot one Irish-German guy. (His mom swears that he’s Mexican by association because he was conceived in Cancun.)

Anyway, our Little Dude has been throwing nuclear tantrums and the other day my husband walked into the kitchen as I was saying, “No llores, papi. No llores!”

Bewildered, my husband says (in his O.C. accent), “What a coincidence that the word for crying is the name of that town where all those women were disapearing.”

“Llores,” I replied. “Not Juarez.”

“Oh.”

In case you were wondering, the lunch was excellent and that nimrod who was so rude to Mom wasn’t there!

An extended excerpt of Switchcraft is now up and so is your last chance to win a signed ARC of this eagerly awaited book (yes, the one with all that damn cussin’!).

Sorry, that was catty of me. But wait till you read the love scene in chapter 24!

Go play.

Besitos,
Mary

Switchcraft received an early review at Blogcritics!

Check it out:

Book Review: Switchcraft by Mary Castillo
Written by Jill HartPublished June 27, 2007

Mary Castillo, a hot new Latina novelist, shakes things up with her newest title, Switchcraft. Castillo gives chick-lit a twist as her heroines, Nely and Aggie, end up in each other’s bodies.

Nely and Aggie have been friends for years, but have grown apart since the birth of Nely’s baby. In an effort to reclaim their friendship, and also in hopes of speaking to her dead mother, Aggie signs them up for a weekend getaway at Guru Sauro’s New Age Spa.Once they arrive at the spa, things go a little haywire. During their session with the guru, they end up “switched.” They confront the guru, who says he can’t switch them back until the next new moon, 28 days later.

There is nothing they can do but try to muddle through living each other’s lives. Aggie (in Nely’s body) must care for 18-month-old Audrey, avoid the advances of Nely’s husband, and fend off her control-freak mother-in-law. Can she manage it without wrecking Nely’s marriage?

Nely (in Aggie’s body) heads to Aggie’s boutique. What she finds is a lack of customers and a store going down the tube. Can she come up with a plan to save Aggie’s business? And how will she handle Kevin, a man she despises, but who Aggie considers a good friend? Can she successfully avoid him without costing Aggie her friendship?

Switchcraft has a unique plot – a little bit Freaky Friday, but way more fun. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the overuse of curse words. Not my taste, and it broke my concentration when reading. Overall, I loved the plot and the twists in the storyline. A great book for chick-lit fans.

***
Obviously its too late to do anything about it, but what is your opinion on cussing in books? It doesn’t bother me because I grew up around fire fighters and they probably rival sailors for worst potty mouth. I’m not much of a cusser – I believe they should be saved for an emergency – but I feel that if the character speaks that way, then as an author you have to go with it.

Cheers,
Mary

The girls and I decided to celebrate National Sisters Day (Aug. 5th) by holding a virtual booksigning. All you have to do is purchase a copy of Names I Call My Sister and then make a photocopy of the receipt.

On an index card, legibly print or type the following information:
Your Name:
Your preferred mailing address:
Email address: (In case we have any questions)
For whom should we autograph the book?

Prepare a self-addressed, stamped 6 x 9 envelope and mail it along with the index card and the photocopy of your receipt no later than July 15, 2007 to:

Sofia Quintero
c/o Chica Luna Productions
1690 Lexington Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10029

We will send you a personalized bookplate with the signature of all four authors.

When the bookplate arrives, peel off the back, stick on the inside front cover, and enjoy!

Other than the Little Dude and I are recovering from colds. But I finished revising Act II of my Mariachi story and I’m now deep into Act III.

If you haven’t entered my latest contest, hurry on over before Thursday. I’m giving away signed coverflats and will select ten names to be entered into the grand prize drawing: a signed ARC of Switchcraft that the lucky winner will receive a month before the official release!

What else? Oh yeah, if you’re down in San Diego and have nothing to do Friday night, come on down to Bay Books in Coronado where I’ll be reading from and signing copies of Names I Call My Sister. All the details are here.

Signing out till next time …

Mary

There are some new updates with the release of Names I Call My Sister.

Check out the pearls and my nifty ‘do on SiTv’s On the Up segments.

Bestest friend and writer extraordinare, Jen Mahal shares a little about our friendship at One Page at a Time. (Love you, man!)

Crafty Chica and good friend, Kathy Cano Murrillo interviewed me on her blog.

I guest blogged at A Slice of Orange today.

And finally…

There’s a sneak peek of Switchcraft posted on my website!

Is this a bitchin’ cover or what?

Cheers,

Mary

P.S. If you’re in Laguna Beach, come meet me this Saturday at 11 a.m. at Latitude 33. Click here for the details.

I’ll have a fourth book on the shelves. How crazy is that?

In all honesty, I can’t quite wrap my mind around it. Maybe I’m hormonal today, but I still feel like a newbie writer checking and then rechecking her lottery ticket to make sure the numbers are right. The stories never get easier, nor do my characters become more cooperative. Also, the thrill of reading an email from a reader never lessens.

In short, this whole author thing is much cooler than a day job. And man, am I grateful to be where I am today.

But wait! My SíTv segment will air tomorrow through the 10th and then again on the 12th and 13th. On The Up isn’t scheduled at a regular time; it just pops up between shows and commercial breaks. But I’ll have a copy to post online soon.

Salud!

Mary