Monday, February 12, 2018

Havana Blues by David Pereda - Blurb Blitz and Giveaway



Havana Blues
by David Pereda

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GENRE:   Historical Coming-of-Age novel

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BLURB:

The year is 1952 and Ramon Rodriguez’s life as a teenager in fun-loving Havana is filled with typical activities and concerns: girls, education, religion, baseball, parties, and hanging out with friends. The country is enjoying a period of prosperity and happiness--until General Batista stages a coup that topples the government and Ramon’s life is flung into chaos.

In a few short years, the carefree fifties morph into a vicious and repressive dictatorship highlighted by corruption, organized gambling, school closures, student demonstrations, police brutality, and assassinations.

As Ramon experiences the thrills of his first romantic relationship, graduates from school, and struggles to plan for an uncertain future, he is forced to make important decisions that may be dangerous to him, his family, his friends, and his girlfriend – the beautiful Sonia -- and could turn deadly.


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EXCERPT

My room was on fire. Orange tongues licked the crumbling walls
and snaked across the burning floor toward my bed. Thick gray
smoke choked me. My ears throbbed with an insistent and
reverberating sound.

I couldn’t breathe.

I gasped for air. My palms felt sweaty, and my heart thrashed
against my rib cage, as if trying to escape my chest. I opened my eyes.
For a moment, I was in a bright and silent void – then I heard my
parents arguing in the kitchen.

It was a hot and sunny morning. I had been dreaming of hell
again, and the alarm clock was ringing.

I shut it off.

Ever since Brother Santiago had given in Religion class a week
ago a vivid and realistic description of hell as punishment for
masturbation and having sex with prostitutes, I’d had the same dream
over and over. Amid much commotion and speculation, Pacheco, the
frail student with a perennially runny nose who sat behind me in
class, fainted and had to be carted off to the school infirmary, pale
and limp like a noodle in won ton soup. Everyone in class knew
Pacheco was an assiduous masturbator – he bragged about it to other
students often enough – but his blackout generated great speculation
in the school about his frequent visits to brothels. I wondered what
kind of nightmares Pacheco was having.

On second thought, I really didn’t want to know. I had enough
with my own nightmares of hell.

I stretched lazily in bed. Today was a special day. It was my
birthday. I was fifteen years old.

A door slammed somewhere, and once more I was aware of my
parents’ angry voices in the kitchen. I likened their arguments to a
sort of word symphony, the sound of their voices harmonized so
well. My mother’s shrill, piercing sting was a nearly perfect
complement to my father’s placating hum.

Though I couldn’t hear them clearly, I guessed what they were
arguing about – money. Ever since Papa’s broom-making business
started going bad, it seemed money was all they ever talked about.


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

David Pereda was born in Havana, Cuba. The award-winning author of seven previous novels, he enjoys crafting political thrillers and edgy mainstream novels with unique characters placed in exotic settings. He has traveled to more than thirty countries and speaks four languages. Before devoting his time solely to writing and teaching, David had a successful international consulting career with global giant Booz Allen Hamilton, where he worked with the governments of Mexico, Venezuela, Peru and Qatar, among others.

A member of MENSA, David earned his MBA from Pepperdine University in California. He earned bachelor degrees in English literature and mathematics at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

He lives in artistic Asheville, North Carolina, with his youngest daughter Sophia, where he teaches mathematics and English at the Asheville-Buncombe Community College. He loves sports and is an accomplished competitor in track and show-jumping equestrian events.




Buy links:

Amazon:

Barnes and Noble:

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

David Pereda will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be Sure To Visit The Other Blogs On The Tour:

February 5Stormy Nights Reviewing and Bloggin'
February 5The Reading Addict
February 6Christine Young
February 6Nickie's Views and Interviews
February 7Straight From the Library
February 7Sapphyria's Books
February 8BooksChatter
February 8Cali Book Reviews
February 9Edgar's Books
February 9Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer
February 12Lampshade Reader
February 12Mixed Book Bag
February 13Liz's Reading Life
February 13Up 'Til Dawn Book Blog
February 14It's Raining Books
February 14Long and Short Reviews
February 15Laurie's Thoughts and Reviews
February 15Musings From An Addicted Reader
February 16Harlie's Books
February 16Viviana MacKade
February 19Rainy Day Reviews
February 19Queen of All She Reads
February 20Sea's Nod
February 20Fabulous and Brunette
February 21Two Ends of the Pen
February 21Hope. Dreams. Life... Love
February 22Two Crazy Ladies Love Romance
February 22Readeropolis
February 23Sharing Links and Wisdom
February 23Beyond Romance
February 26Reviews by Crystal
February 26The Avid Reader
February 27Mello and June, It's a Book Thang!
February 27Dawn's Reading Nook
February 28Emily Carrington
February 28books are love
March 1The Writing Crafter
March 1Jazzy Book Reviews
March 2Bookaholic - review
March 2Welcome to My World of Dreams

4 comments:

Goddess Fish Promotions said...

Thanks for hosting!

David Pereda said...

I want to thank you for hosting me in your blog today. I'll be checking in and out throughout the day -- before, in-between and after my classes -- to answer questions or respond to comments from your readers about Havana Blues, my next upcoming book to be released in March, or any other topic regarding my writing. I'm looking forward to having a fun day interacting with your readers and with you. Again, my thanks.

Unknown said...

I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour and I hope it is a fun one for you

David Pereda said...

Thank you JC, Rita and Lisa. I'm running to a meeting, but I will check in again later, in case you have any questions or comments. Have a great afternoon all of you. It's gray and threatening rain here in Asheville.