Tell us about Sweetwater American

Set in Washington, D.C. and El Salvador, SWEETWATER AMERICAN is the story of an orphan and would-be filmmaker who is sent to live in a cursed town in El Salvador with her godmother, a woman whom she has never met and who may hold the secret to breaking the town’s curse.

Through Sandy Rodriguez and Elena Martinez, the two main characters, we are led into a different, haunting and magical world, where people test their faith every day and hold true to what they believe: that hardship and darkness can be overcome if one finds a reason to live.

While living in El Salvador, after a film crew comes to her town to film a movie, Sandy realizes she wants to be a documentary filmmaker. When she returns to the States, she attends George Washington University where she meets Elena, a sixty-something-year-old woman who serves peas and mashed potatoes in one of the school’s cafeterias.

Sandy, intrigued by Elena, decides to ask her if she would be willing to share her life story with her. Elena, whose past still haunts her, agrees to tell Sandy her story. During the interview, Sandy is forced to come to terms with her own past and she begins to understand what the term, Sweetwater American, really means.

What genre is it?
Sweetwater American is somewhere between literary fiction, contemporary fiction and magical realism. If I had to pick one category, I’d pick literary fiction.

What kind of readers will it appeal to?
Sweetwater American is character driven. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have a plot! However, I do think that it will appeal most to readers who enjoy character driven literary fiction with a hint of magical realism (think Isabel Allende ) in it.

Complete this sentence for us: If you like ___________, you’ll love Sweetwater American.
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende.

When we approached you and asked you to pick one of your books for this interview, you picked this one even though you have newer ones. Why is this book so special to you?
Sweetwater American is my heart. It’s an honest novel and by that I mean that it wasn’t easy for me to write. I had to dig really deep within myself; I had to let go of all inhibitions. In essence, it’s the novel that set me free. I wrote my heart out and put it all out there. It’s a story that I had to tell, that I felt needed to be heard.

That’s interesting. Tell us more about yourself.
Let’s see. By day, I’m a public servant; I’m the Web Management Officer for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. By night, well, that’s when my stories start to come alive. I try and write every day which with two kids and a husband is not always easy but I do give it a good go! And recently, I’ve developed a love affair with cooking. This development is quite shocking to me because let me tell you, I’ve never really liked cooking. I think I may have been afraid of the kitchen. But man, lately, I’m whipping up some delicious meals. At least, that’s what my husband is telling me!

Have you got a blog or website where readers can keep up with your work? How can we follow you on Facebook and/or Twitter?
This is where I bow my head in shame! I don’t currently have an author site. However, readers may subscribe to my email newsletter by sending an email to: ecruzcoleman@gmail.com

And if you’ll permit me, I’d also like to plug a little Facebook page which I set up to highlight an upcoming eBook event during which a group of authors will offer their eBooks for 99 cents each. 16 books total. Interested folks may visit and like the Facebook page to stay informed of all the details.

Where can we buy Sweetwater American?
Amazon ( US, UK). Barnes and Noble. Kobo. iBooks.

What’s next?
I’m hard at work on another literary fiction novel tentatively entitled, I’m American. It focuses on a young woman living in Washington, D.C. who is desperately trying to find her way in the world; one morning, on her way to her new job as an office assistant, she stops to give a homeless man a bottle of water. The homeless man is her father whom she hasn’t seen since she was sixteen years old.

I’m American is really the story of two lost people, a father and daughter, who find each other again and slowly begin the healing process of their broken lives.

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Enjoyed this interview? Then check out our conversation with Idabel Allen