In a traditional family, the last thing you can be is who you really are, but it's time for Jacqueline Sanchez to find the woman underneath it all . . . Everyone has their role. My mother is the martyr, my father the distant unapproachable figure, and Noel, with a few brief stints in jail, is considered misunderstood, not a handsome loser. Yolie is just outspoken, not a miserable bitter shrew, which would be her clinical diagnosis in the "real" world. And the rest of my brothers and sisters have problems that my parents consider normal, like bad marriages, unruly children, and too many bills. So is it a surprise that I'm considered the troublemaker of the family? Not happy at home? Move away for college. Hate your job? Find another one. Fallen out of lust, er, love with your husband? Divorce him. I, so far, am the anomaly-or flake-in the family because I'm vocal about how unnecessary it is to be unhappy, and how important it is to do something about it to change your circumstances (thank you, Zoloft) If I had it my way, my whole family would be comparing dosages at the dinner table the way some families talk about sports or politics . . . Since graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism with an emphasis in magazine writing, Margo Candela has been enjoying getting her feet wet in the world of writing. She has written for Estylo Magazine, ComputerLife Magazine, BayInsider.com, Beyond.com, and ZuluSports.com. She has also written two screenplays, as well as mainstream fiction, a young adult series, and literary fiction which feature strong, complex Latina characters. Underneath It All is her first novel. She is currently finishing her second. Prolific, savvy, and speaking to the heart of modern day Latinas, Margo Candela is an author to watch.

Underneath it All

Literature & Fiction

Candela, Margo

United States

Kensington Trade

Single. Latin. Female. Meet Natalya Campos. She's always had things under control-a successful catering business, a serious relationship, good friends, and a loud but lovable family. She's kind, smart, and organized to the point of obsession. But then her live-in boyfriend announces he's leaving her, and Natalya finds herself having a meltdown in front of a bridal magazine rack at her local 24-hour supermarket. Natalya decides to create a recipe for the perfect man-only to find she herself lacks a few ingredients. Determined to complete her list, she joins a gym, starts to read more than cookbooks, volunteers to clean up an oil spill, and even tries to rediscover her spirituality by going to church (Bible Cliff Notes in purse). Along the way, she meets a diverse cast of characters-from a wacky bookstore owner to a tree hugger named Tree-and gets into some sticky situations, like getting bailed out of jail by her dad. It gets kind of complicated, but for Natalya, life without a spreadsheet may just turn out to be the adventure of a lifetime . . . Praise for Margo Candela and Underneath it All "Fresh, vibrant and fast paced" -Kelley St. John "Balances wit as sharp as a tack with engaging humor and a voice as fresh as spring rain" -Caridad Pieiro "Uproariously dysfunctional, touching and melancholy" -Caridad Ferrer "Anyone whose life has veered off track will relate . . . You'll fall in love" -Patrick Sanchez "Candela is an engaging writer" -Publishers Weekly Since graduating from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism with an emphasis in magazine writing, Margo Candela has been enjoying getting her feet wet in the publishing world. She has written for Estylo Magazine, ComputerLife Magazine, BayInsider.com, Beyond.com, and ZuluSports.com. She'd dedicated to writing fiction that features strong, complex Latina characters. Underneath It All was her first novel. Speaking to the heart of modern day L

Life Over Easy

Kensington Pub. Corp

Sometimes what we have is not enough. She doesn't know his name and he doesn't know hers, but they just might be perfect for each other. Alexander Velazquez, an ambitious lawyer from a working-class neighborhood, and Evelyn Sinclair, a daughter of privilege trying to make it on her own, are strangers living parallel yet very different lives. Alex finds himself deeply entrenched in the life of an unredeemable client, and Evelyn realizes she's committed herself to a company with questionable ethics. They are both brokenhearted workaholics constantly trying to keep up with the demands of family and friends. What they both want is to find meaning in their lives; what they're doing is looking in the wrong directions. As they watch each other through their office windows, all they can do is wonder about what might happen if they took a chance on the stranger across the street.

More Than This: A Novel

Touchstone

When her Hollywood career goes haywire, a young woman must say good-bye to all that . . . or must she? Raquel Azorian has worked her way from temp to executive assistant and is this close to a promotion to junior marketing exec at Belmore Corporation, the media behemoth she’s devoted herself to. She’s learned to play the Hollywood game—navigate office politics, schmooze the right people, avoid the wrong ones, and maintain a sense of decorum even in the craziest of times. All she needs is for her boss to sign her promotion memo. Instead of putting pen to paper, he suffers a very public meltdown that puts not only his professional future but also Raquel’s on the line. Getting to the next rung on the Belmore ladder will require every ounce of focus, but that’s not going to be easy. Raquel’s mom has decided to leave her husband and move into Raquel’s apartment, and her older brother seems to be sinking deeper and deeper into depression. Raquel has to keep her job, stop her parents from divorcing, and save her brother. In the chaos of juggling so much, she finally reaches a breaking point: there’s just not enough time for everything or for everyone. She’s going to have to choose—success at work or happiness at home. But then a chance encounter at a bookstore café leads Raquel to start planning her own Hollywood ending . . . on her own terms.

Good-bye To All That: A Novel

A TODAY.COM MOST ANTICIPATED LATINX BOOK OF 2022!\nThree sisters. Three vastly different lives. A maelstrom of family secrets. For fans of María Amparo Escandón and Laurie Frankel, Margo Candela pens a riotous, provocative tale of family and sisterhood.\nGrowing up with a kind but alcoholic father and a suspicious, passive aggressive mother, the Bernal sisters each developed their own way of coping: Dulcina had her art and drugs and alcohol, Claudia plunged into her studies and fled to Princeton, and Maritza watched one Disney movie after another in between devouring romance novels.\nNow all grown up, the sisters are reunited at last for Maritza’s dream wedding. But they are no less different than they were growing up: Maritza is a princess bridezilla, Claudia is the family “fixer,” and Dulcina “Dooley” is finally sober. With all three Bernal sisters back in their East L.A. home, each begins to take steps to come to terms with each other, their parents, and the secrets from their shared past. While their lives may have taken different paths, they are still sisters at heart.\nTold in alternating points of view, The Neapolitan Sisters is a humorous yet moving look at what it means to be a sister, daughter, and ultimately, your own self, despite the pressures that come with being part of a family.

The Neapolitan Sisters: A Novel of Heritage and Home

Alcove Press