Author Archives: Joe Hinojosa

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About Joe Hinojosa

Official account of a writer in potentia. Blogger, student, bibliophile and novice book reviewer.

New books, reading, and reviews

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Finally, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, I received my latest package from Amazon, the Divergent box set. I get excited every time I buy a new book. I’m like a kid on Christmas morning, ripping open the box, inhaling the new book aroma, and basking in the aura of its splendor.

I could have ordered the books on my Kindle and had them available immediately, but sometimes I really like having the books in my hand. E-books are great, and I’ve read many books on my reader, but having an actual book is something that cannot be replicated on the glow of an LCD screen. Some may disagree, but they’re wrong. It’s possible I’m showing my age.

The books are resting peacefully on my desk, waiting for me to break into its pages, losing myself to an adventure unknown. I can’t wait to discover what secrets lie in the pages, written by a writer hoping to gain an audience. I think she succeeded, and the first movie comes out later this month. I want to at least read the first book before seeing the movie.

The only thing stopping me is a prior commitment. I have a book I need to read for next Monday’s book review, my last scheduled one. After that, I’ll be free to read it at my leisure. For now, I have to read The Trinity, the last book of the Fall of Venus Trilogy, after which I’m not going to review books on a regular basis anymore. I’ll do one occasionally, when the mood strikes me, but two a month burned me out.

Now, I can return to reading for my enjoyment again. That’ll be nice for a change, but I have to say, I did get to read a lot of good books while I was at it. I’ll continue to post occasionally, but I have my own book that needs attention, and life is urging me to get back to living, too.

That’s it for this Monday. I hope you have a great week and I’ll see you next time!

What am I giving up for lent? No one likes a quitter!

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So today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of lent. Lent is a period of penance, of fasting, prayer, and an evaluation of one’s faith leading up to the biggest feast on the Christian calendar, Easter Sunday. Traditionally, Catholics and many other Christians give up something as a sacrificial offering.

So I’ll make do without sodas, but saying goodbye to my Dr Pepper will be difficult, Also sweets are a no-no, as is meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays throughout the Lenten season. I might cheat on the sweets part since sometimes I need the sugar from a candy bar when I’m feeling weak. Should see a doctor about that one of these days.

There’s something else I want to do. Why should it be all about quitting something? I want to focus again on my writing like I had been. Not only on my blog, which I plan on setting up a schedule again, this time twice a week, but also on my book, which has lingered in limbo for far too long. Two thousand words a day is my goal starting today.

I also received some edits that I need to look through, which I will once they are all back. Then I may take a break again from writing and delve into editing again, but I have no time table set on that yet. I’ll let you know when I know something.

So I will start my day of penance and fasting. No meat for me, but that won’t be too hard. I can have fish and veggies. I’m not as picky as I used to be, and I’m rededicating myself to my writing, again.

Maybe it’s not exactly what the season is meant for, but I’m only a mortal. I do what I can with what I given. Regardless, this will be a sacrifice and one that I’ll do gladly. Well, not giving up my Dr Pepper. That really is a sacrifice. Pray for me!

Book review: Hat Dance

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March is finally here, and hopefully warmer weather will soon be upon us. I can’t wait. I’m tired of the cold and the ice. Be that as it may, I have a new book to share with you, this time by author Carmen Amato entitled Hat Dance. You can find out more about the author on her website, on Twitter, and on Amazon. Enjoy!

Hat Dance_final_300pxWhen Emilia Cruz joined Kurt Rucker, an American who ran El Palacio Réal, one of the most luxurious hotels in the city, she thought it would simply be a night out at a restaurant her salary could never afford. Kurt soon announced that another resort in Belize was interested in him to run their property, and he wanted her to join him to check out the potential offer. Never could she have guessed that before the date was over, losing Kurt would be the least of her problems.

In Carmen Amato’s novel, Hat Dance, we meet Emilia, who works as a detective with the Acapulco Police Department, and who helped close down a casino that was a front for organized crime. Kurt took her to El Tigre, an upscale restaurant, where they ran into the popular mayor of the city Carlota Montoya Perez, and the head of the police Union, Victor Obregon Sosa. As Kurt and Emilia leave, their night comes to halt when a bomb tears through El Tigre.

Seen as a potential assassination attack on the mayor, Emilia quickly finds herself in an escalating game of political theatrics, navigating the inflated egos of the powerful while trying to solve a complex case. Complicating it even further is her assignment to a new partner who is openly disdainful of her, and a police lieutenant who appears incompetent.

Adding to her drama, she agrees to accept a personal case on the side, a missing person’s report which alienates her from her partner even farther. In a city where corruption is rampant, and the powerful are known to be on the take, can Emilia get to the bottom of the case before others are hurt or killed?

What Carmen has done is to create a story rich and powerful. The storyline is dynamic, with several threads woven to create a varied tapestry, of lives intersecting at a specific moment in time, of lives hanging in the balance, all depending on her and a reluctant partner to solve a high-stakes case. I enjoyed this book and I hope you will too.

List of Book Reviews
Next Review –  The Trinity
Previous Review – Solid Rock

To teach or not to teach…

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It’s so easy for time to slip through your fingers, especially when you have a decision you are grappling with. In my case, I’m trying to make more life-changing decisions and it’s not easy to make, mostly due to the time and financial requirements necessary to realize this decision.

I have begun considering joining an alternative certification program in order to earn a teaching certificate. There’s quite a few requirements that need to be met, ones that I need to spend time and money to achieve, but in the end will give me the ability to teach in the state of Texas and will get me halfway to a Masters of Arts in Teaching.

One thing that I must accomplish is pass the certification exam for the discipline I want to teach. I’ve given this some thought and I’m leaning towards English, though I wouldn’t mind becoming certified in History or Political Science.

Regardless, it’s still a monumental decision that I’ve yet to settle on completely. The thought of having to stand in front of a class scares me, and talking to people terrifies me, so what the hell am I thinking? All I know is that I hate what I’m doing and I would like to do something in which I can make a positive difference.

I’m looking into a career field that is neither lucrative nor much appreciated, but influences the minds of our youth. I have to make my mind up rather quickly so I can start making whatever preparations are necessary to begin this journey. I’m terrified, but not more so than staying where I am.

When I make up my mind, I’ll let you know, but for now, if you are so inclined to prayer, I ask that you do so. If you’re not, then I’ll accept positive thoughts, it’s the same to me.

The cardboard sign

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On my way to work yesterday, I happened upon a curious sign. I came across a panhandler on the side of the frontage road after I got off my exit. There, on the side of a busy intersection stood a relatively young man, with a beard and a wool a knit cap, holding a cardboard sign begging for money. What stood out to me was what he had written on the makeshift sign:

Ninjas kidnapped my wife. Need money for Kung Fu lessons.

I wish I would have had time to snap a picture of the guy and the sign, and I was tempted to spot him a few dollars just because the sign amused me. I didn’t give him anything, I was just tempted to do so. But the sign got me thinking about the improbability of the sign. What if his wife had really been abducted my ninjas, and what if he really needed to learn Kung Fu in order to save her?

It’s the ridiculousness of that thought that makes me want to laugh. There’s no way in hell his wife is being held hostage by a band of rogue ninjas, but the what if’s make me pause, if only for a moment.

When the light turned green, I continued on to my job, clocked in, and forgot about the panhandler at the intersection, but for a brief moment, it made me smile. I wonder if he’s homeless and begging to survive, if he’s mentally ill or otherwise incapable of holding down a job, or if he’s simply out there for the laughs. Now again, he gives me pause to think about the possibilities behind the cardboard sign.

I hope he is well.