Veronic is on vacation this month, so we are rerunning one of her more popular posts. She’ll be back September 22, but in the meantime we hope you enjoy:
The Many Colors Of Me
Most people are a combination of various cultures, though I think their ancestors tended to confine their marriages and unions to one continent. Mine didn’t. As a teenager, growing up in the 1960s, I was always asked, “What are you, black or white?” I’d usually answer, “Both,” or “Neither,” not because I was afraid or wanted to fit in, but because it was true: Nicaraguan and Dominican parents, Middle-Eastern and French grandparents, and Chinese and African great-grandparents. (Hope I didn’t miss anyone). And born in Brooklyn, New York. “How sweet it is!”
This ethnic mix probably explains my preferred genres; Kid-Lit, because I am always looking for someone like me in children’s books; and Historical Fiction, because like working on a jigsaw puzzle, I travel the globe, mostly through books, in search of all of the pieces of me that, once united, will make me whole.
This quest has made me an avid multicultural reader. In every reading exploration I discover something about myself. Everything I write contains a key to who I am that reveals an aspect of my essence. It’s an awesome journey.
And while I seem to connect with everyone, I don’t really fit in anywhere; yet I love the empathy toward others that these various cultures have generated in me because it leads to a deeper kind of listening and understanding, which in turn informs and directs my writing.
I’m always learning, and changing, and growing, and I often have so much to say that I don’t know where to begin, or how to put it all together…like now.
So, thank you ancestors, for being willing and unwilling globe-hoppers. I am wonderfully made and you have given me much to think of and write about.
~Veronica
Books Reviewed by Veronica Jorge
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Hopes and wishes: the stuff that dreams are made of. Remember hoping for the dream boat prom date? Remember hoping for your dream job? How many times have you wished upon a star with all of your heart for something that you truly desired to come true? Or wished that you could slide down the rainbow tasting all of the colors along the ride, and then discover the wonderful world waiting for you at the end?
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In my March 22nd post, As Young As Spring, I mentioned several nature themed books. Today, I’d like to offer a review of one of those titles.
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Don’t spend money on green drinks, wrinkle creams, and hair dyes to take out the grey. It’s Springtime. Immerse yourself in nature and rejuvenate!
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Every Valentine’s Day chocolate in all shapes and sizes: loose, bagged, heart-shaped boxes, can be found everywhere. Including in my pantry, in the candy dish, on my plate. Well, you get the picture. I like chocolate. (I indulge year round).
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Featured Author Veronica Jorge credits her love of history to the potpourri of cultures that make up her own life and to her upbringing in diverse Brooklyn, New York.
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Featured Books
THE RELUCTANT GROOM AND OTHER HISTORICAL STORIES
Enjoy historical fiction? Like short stories? Then dive into this collection of historical shorts by an award-winning author.
More info →
HAGAR’S LAST DANCE
By day, Jeanne Pelletier is a small-town girl toiling in obscurity at a stuffy Washington, D.C., law firm; by night, she’s Zahira, the city’s newest belly dancing sensation.
More info → UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS … AND THE LIFT IN BETWEEN
She crosses and ocean to take the holiday of her dreams at an English country estate ... where he works below stairs.
More info →
