Mi Vida Loca


Book Description

There is only one winner in boxing. Fighting against your opponent and fighting against your own inner demons become one in the same. Those who survive both in and out of the ring are beloved worldwide. Those who do not spiral downward into drugs, prison, and even murder. "[My] life's been pretty tragic," remarks Johnny. "But in the ring, it's been a blessing." Mi Vida Loca is not just a nickname for Johnny, but a legendary tale of a life lived over the edge and back.




Too Happy to Be Sad Girl


Book Description

TOO HAPPY TO BE SAD GIRL: A Self-Help Memoir Written by an Iconic Brown Girl Boss!Are you looking for the courage to finally start living your truth? Are you ready to find happiness in yourself, stop struggling with self-worth, and finally kick anxiety to the curb? Now's the time! Too Happy to Be Sad Girl is an inspiring guide that will make you laugh, cry, think, and finally stand up for yourself!If you've spent years feeling like you've put everyone else's needs ahead of your own, struggling with self-esteem, or just felt like you were not living up to your potential, you're not alone. Every one of us has a unique journey, often filled with pain, hardship, and a hefty dose of dark times. Every one of us must find the strength and courage to live with and on purpose. Angel Aviles is one of those people who made a living making movies. In fact, in 1993, she appeared as the Sad Girl in the cult classic filmMi Vida Loca. She had a beautiful life in Los Angeles but at some point, her battle with anxiety and panic took her from heaven through hell. She fought for years to gain her self-confidence and learned so much in the process. In 2011 Angel began a side hustle as a life coach. Today, she's helped countless women find worthiness and happiness in themselves. With her book, you can begin the process of becoming "too happy," too!This book special because:It's an autobiography that reveals how Angel learned to use her anxiety and change her life.It's a straight-up guide to helping you understand who you are, what you want and find joy getting there.It's a riveting story. As you read, you will feel less alone and inspired to pursue your dreams.It's fun, it's adventurous, it's daring, it's sad, it's dark, it's everything in between. Angel is not your typical life coaching guru. In fact, she likes to think of herself as a comadre, a trusted friend, full of love and genuine advice.




The Ghost of Johnny Tapia


Book Description

"If I wake up, I know I'm a success. The day I don't wake up, I know I'll be home. I have one foot on this earth and one foot has crossed over. I didn’t just die, I lived.”—Johnny Tapia ...the ghost of Johnny Tapia lives on. “Mi Vida Loca” (My Crazy Life) was Johnny Tapia’s nickname and his reason for being. Haunted by the brutal murder of his beloved mother when he was a child, fighting and drugs gave him the escape he craved—and he did both with gusto. In The Ghost Of Johnny Tapia, Paul Zanon, with the help of Tapia’s widow Teresa, tells the harrowing and unforgettable story of a boxing genius who couldn’t, in the end, defeat his demons. The Ghost of Johnny Tapia is the second in the Hamilcar Noir series. Hamilcar Noir is "Hard-Hitting True Crime" that blends boxing and true crime, featuring riveting stories captured in high-quality prose, with cover art inspired by classic pulp novels. From the Foreword: "Johnny had incredible heart, was such a sweet man, but was also tormented. He had two sides to him. The sweetest, nicest guy, but then the other side which could probably kill you. He was tortured with his addictions, but Johnny was always pure emotion in that ring."—Sammy ‘The Red Rocker’ Hagar, Musician




Cholo Style


Book Description

Chicano style from and beyond the pages of Mi Vida Loca magazine....




A Crazy Life by Laura Lucio


Book Description

A Crazy LifeBy: Laura Lucio Anecdotes and conversations with my friend Jenni RiveraA Crazy Life, by Laura Lucio, Anecdotes and Conversations with my friend Jenni Rivera is a story about two strong women planning and conspiring to break through and succeed in the male dominated world of Regional Mexican Music. This book focuses on the planning behind the scenes that help turn Jenni Rivera into a high grossing superstar and about the process in converting the Jenni Rivera name into a 'brand.'"I gave her pep talks, and kept her focused on her singing career for there were many distractions, says Television Producer and Author, Laura Lucio. "Throughout my television career as a news correspondent and producer, I made important friendships and contacts that helped support the music career of my friend Jenni. Just as I had foreseen and told her in 2005, when I worked on a plan to launch her music promotion and publicity in the U.S. and Mexico, Jenni Rivera would become the highest grossing female artist of her time and one of the highest paid in her genre. She sold over 20 million albums while alive and still counting," says book author Laura Lucio. There have been many books and television series released about Jenni Rivera; however Laura Lucio was the only one Jenni authorized to tell her story. What is special about this book and of great interest to her fans are Laura's personal conversations with Jenni throughout the nine (9) years that she guided, produced and assessed Jenni Rivera's career moves. Jenni tells Laura about her dreams, her doubts, her fears as well as what moved her and was dear to her heart. The book touches on Jenni's love life and how even in the hardest of times, through careful design Jenni's image remains intact. Events like the tragic days she lived in court while her first husband who had been at large for 10 years was finally convicted of sexually abusing their two daughters and Jenni's sister, the very public divorce from her second husband, the events when she dated a a musician from her band whom she felt betrayed her when a sex video tape of the two of them lands in the hands of the media in 2008. Her passion for a man from the barrio who was experimenting with drugs drives Jenni into a tumultuous rollercoaster ride as she spends much time and energy trying to help him. No matter her challenges with men Jenni never gives up on LOVE. After meeting at one of Jenn's concerts, she dates and later marries major league baseball pitcher, Esteban Loaiza in a lavish wedding on September 8th 2010 but her happiness will not last long. Jenni felt betrayed by his actions and those of a family friend that leave Jenni questioning their loyalty towards her including that of her eldest daughter. These events break Jenni's spirit to the point of depression just a few weeks before the tragic accident that took her life. "Throughout my association with Jenni, there was never a dull moment and I share as much as possible with her fans," says book author, Laura Lucio."Our friendship and work was constantly challenged by the acts of cowardly individuals who continuously worked behind our back to negatively affect our progress . Our strong willed manner would not allow that, we smiled and kept going. When Jenni decides to host a talk show for Spanish Television Network Estrella TV she requests that I executive produce it. The unfolding of the behind the scenes drama is a 'telenovela' all in itself."Facing the 'payola' practice, the lawsuits and the media during major scandals plus Jenni's search for a psychic during a crucial time in her life. This book highlights that special relationship she had with her fans. If you want to know about the behind the scenes in the music industry you'll find this book interesting. Each chapter is written like a mini episode, in Love and Light, enjoy this read.




My Vida Loca


Book Description

Sofia's adventures and disasters continue in this compilation of three previously published books.




Poe Must Die


Book Description

A half-mad, alcoholic Edgar Allan Poe aims to defeat an occultist’s terrifying plot in this “intelligent, suspenseful” thriller set in 1840s New York (Booklist). It is said that beneath Solomon’s glorious throne, books that gave the fabled king control over life, death, and demonic power were buried. The throne has been lost for millennia, but now one man seeks to find it and harness its secrets to unleash hell upon the world. Jonathan is the most powerful psychic on earth, and in service of his god, Lucifer, he will tear civilization apart. To combat his dark designs, mankind’s hopes rest on a troubled author named Edgar Allan Poe. In the shadows of New York City, Poe drowns his talent in rotgut gin, trying to forget the death of his beloved wife. A bare-knuckle fighter named Pierce James Figg arrives with a letter of introduction from Charles Dickens, begging for Poe’s help chasing down the power-mad devil worshiper. Now, writer and fighter must stand together to save humanity from a darkness beyond even Poe’s tortured imagination. This fast-paced tale of historical supernatural suspense, which Booklist hailed as “unfailingly readable and terrifically well-written,” provides “one cliffhanging chapter after another” (Kirkus Reviews).




Stuffed: A Thanksgiving Romance


Book Description

He's going to be stuffing a lot more than the turkey... Claire Harper never expected to spend Thanksgiving helping out at the inn run by the charming new chef, Jax Donovan. Claire is determined to prove her worth, so she’s more focused on her food blog than romance—until she meets Jax, the swoony new inn owner with smoldering brown eyes. Jax has only been in town a few months, but he’s already making waves as the new owner of his late uncle’s inn. When Claire walks into his kitchen, he’s immediately captivated by her fiery attitude and undeniable beauty. And when the holiday preparations heat up, so does the tension between them. As they work side by side to pull off a Thanksgiving feast, Jax can’t resist teasing Claire with innuendos about what he really wants to "stuff." What starts as playful banter quickly turns into something far steamier, leaving Claire breathless—and craving more than just dinner. This Thanksgiving, the heat between them is about to reach a boiling point. Will Claire give in to her desires, or will she walk away before the holiday is over? Warning: This steamy romance is filled with heat, innuendo, and a whole lot of passion—perfect for readers looking to spice up their holiday season.




Family Secrets


Book Description

“My breasts stopped growing when my grandfather touched them,” confides ‘Elisa’, a young woman who recounts the traumatic incest and sexual abuse she experienced in childhood. In Family Secrets, Gloria González-López tells the life stories of 60 men and women in Mexico who, like Elisa, saw their lives irrevocably changed in the wake of childhood and adolescent incest. In Mexico, a patriarchal, religious society where women are expected to make themselves sexually available to men and where same-sex experiences for both men and women bring great shame, incest is easily hidden, seldom discussed, and rarely reported to authorities. Through gripping, emotional narrative, González-López brings the deeply troubling, hidden, and unspoken issues of incest and sexual violence in Mexican families to light. González-López contends that family and cultural structures in Mexican life enable incest and the culture of silence that surrounds it. She examines the strong bonds of familial obligation between parents and children, brothers and sisters, and elders and youth that, in the case of incest, can morph into sexual obligation; the codes of honor and shame reinforced by tradition and the Church, discouraging openness about sexual violence and trauma; the double standards of morality and stereotypes about sexuality that leave girls and women and gender nonconforming boys and men especially vulnerable to sexual abuse. Together, these cultural factors create a perfect storm for generations upon generations of unspoken incest, a cycle that takes great courage and strength to heal from and overcome. A riveting account, Family Secrets turns a feminist and sociological lens on a disturbing trend that has gone unnoticed for far too long.




WLA


Book Description