My flashback Friday book of the week is none other than my number #1 favorite author Francesca Lia Block! Francesca Lia Block is my queen when it comes to magical realism and she is the first author that I have read that introduced me to the genre of magical realism. She is the reason why magical realism is my favorite genre to read and this is the year that I will be rereading all of her glittering works of art!
Flashback Friday Book Pick
The book I chose for my Flashback Friday is Girl Goddess #9! Girl Goddess #9 is a collection of short stories about girls who realize the power and beauty that has always been inside them all along…
Last week I just picked up Girl Goddess #9 because I was feeling a bit down about the progress of my novel (The middle of a first draft is hard guys) and I have been feeling extremely insecure about my writing in general. Francesca Lia Block’s words always remind me of the power of art and that I must never stop finding the girl goddess that is within myself. Block reminds me that when I create something I can conquer absolutely anything…she reminds me to continue working on what sparks my soul and for me, that is writing…
Flashback Friday Story
I was about sixteen-year-old and it was the summer of the year 2000 and I was baking in the backyard on a tiny lawn chair of my childhood home covered in tanning oil while reading Girl Goddess #9. On top of the tanning oil, I had the horrid sun-in sprayed all over my hair and I literally smelled like an overly chemically processed lemon which is what sun-in is made up of anyway.
I distinctly remember reading the short story Dragons in Manhattan when I was baking in my parents’ rainbow-colored lawn chair and instantly feeling like the sun was warming me up instead of stifling me. Dragons in Manhattan infused the power of pure unadulterated love and acceptance before our world got scary and uncertain.
Back then, my world was so sheltered and predictable and I was bursting to break out and live my life. The short stories of Girl Goddess #9 gave me solace in a time when I was trying to find myself and helped me get through a time when I was told by the media that my curvy body wasn’t good enough and Latinx people to look up to were few and far between. Through these crazy times, we all need a little girl goddess in our lives…