February: Is love in the air? We offer, for your reading pleasure, the romantic comedy of an unlikely hero on his way to becoming one.
Winner – Best Romance
2019 International Latino Book Awards Competition
Casi Di Nova features a pudgy cantina owner in a Mexican border town that has fallen on hard times and has been ignored by Casi’s urgent pleas for government support.
Casanova “Casi” has made every attempt to transform the dusty town and improve the lives of its impoverished residents. So far, all attempts have failed. One day, after searching the Internet for ideas, Casi stumbles upon an unorthodox scheme to exchange love for money with senior American women.
When the women respond favorably, Casi remodels his restaurant, finishes building his house, paves the town’s streets, builds its first school, launches a lucrative medical marijuana business, erects a new church, and expands and updates a medical clinic.
Through unrelated media stories, the American women become suspicious and go to Mexico to confront him. What will they find? What recourse will they take?
5 Stars from Samantha Gregory for Readers’ Favorite
Casi Di Nova by Pablo Omar Zaragoza is an entertaining book with well-developed characters and a great supporting cast. The dialogue between them was natural and funny. The confrontation was very funny and well written. One of the better romantic comedies I have read lately. Casi is a good person at heart. He just wants to improve people’s lives. I recommend this book to romantic comedy fans.
Kudos to Christina! What would we do without her?
We should have put this section in our very first newsletter, but it’s always the right time to thank the person who does so much to make our books inviting to readers. Christina Haas, Zenith Publishing Solutions, is a great publisher! She not only designs our attractive covers, but she formats our manuscripts, submits them to online book retailers, and helps us get noticed. She also designs and maintains our website that showcases all of our books and how to order them. One-stop shopping! Thank you so much, Chris. We love you!
Do You Love To Read?
Imagine not being able to read a book. Imagine being able to read a book but not making time to do so. What is the difference?
Reading statistics here in the United States are shocking. As of 2022, 79% of the adult U.S. population (approximately 306 million) are literate; 21% are illiterate; and 54% are literate below the sixth grade level.
An illiterate cannot make use the English language for work or pleasure. Imagine not knowing the ABCs or how to form words with them. These people live the most basic lives with little opportunity to improve their circumstances.
A functional illiterate utilizes basic reading and writing but does not have the advanced language skills to secure better work opportunities or to enjoy reading for sheer entertainment.
Startling stats: As of 2022, while readership was up 25%, 23% did not pick up a single book. The median number of books read is four, but half of the literate U.S. population reads fewer than four. Americans between the ages of 15 and 44 spend only 10 minutes or less of their day reading.
The United States ranks #17 in the world for time spent reading. In contrast, India, ranks #1, where adults read approximately 10 hours and 42 minutes per week. Thailand is #2 with 9 hours 24 minutes, and China is #3 at 8 hours a week.
Susan – A Writer, An Editor, Or Both?
When your first writing experience involves correspondence with a dog, the only way you can move is up. When Susan was a young girl, her mother enrolled her in such a program exchanging letters with a dog named Susie Cucumber.
Later, she fell in love with biographies. The first biography to capture her attention was George Washington Carver. She read it so many times; she almost memorized it. To this day, it is her favorite genre, perhaps in part, due to her father’s love of all people.
Susan received a BA in English from Berea College. Her only tiptoe into teaching was no surprise, considering she had 42 third graders. She eventually entered the world of public relations where she honed her writing skills.
When an opportunity arose for Susan to edit books, she embarked on a new career that now has spanned decades with work for more than 200 authors around the world. (Thanks, Vid!)
Susan edits fiction for her life partner, Elio, but she also writes – and sometimes ghostwriters for clients. Coming soon, Susan’s first fictionalized story of a real person: BONGO.
How about you? Have you considered writing a book?
If you have, you are not alone. Each year, two million manuscripts are submitted for publishing. Be prepared: 95 percent of those manuscripts are rejected. Don’t give up!
A word of warning: Curb any expectations that your first (and perhaps only) book will be a best seller. Or reap huge royalties. Write to get a story out of you.
Approximately 120,000 books are published annually in the United States. Your book could be one of them.
Currently, the best-selling fiction stories are romances, while the most popular non-fiction stories fall in the religious/inspirational category.
