Christina Hoag's Blog, page 15
August 20, 2016
My thoughts on writing:Interview!
Author David Alan Binder interviews me, Christina Hoag, about writing and my new books. I give a couple of key tips about what I've learned from this arduous journey to publication. Full interview here:
https://sites.google.com/site/dalanbi...
https://sites.google.com/site/dalanbi...
Skin of Tattoos now out in the world!
After many years or toil and yes, tears, my literary thriller "Skin of Tattoos" is now officially published! It's set in LA gang crime world and tells the tale of a gang member trying to break free but can't quite find it within himself to do so with disastrous consequences. Another book with an anti-violence theme. Kirkus calls it "well crafted, engaging...readers will become quickly invested." Great to hear, I put a lo
t in shaping those characters and fell in love with them myself, even the baddie!
On Amazon in ebook/paperback at
http://amzn.to/2bSRjqP
t in shaping those characters and fell in love with them myself, even the baddie!On Amazon in ebook/paperback at
http://amzn.to/2bSRjqP
5 stars for Girl on the Brink!
Girl on the BrinkAuthor/reviewer Rachel Barnard gave a big thumbs up to my YA story of an abusive relationship, saying "This book was so scarily accurate I had trouble putting it down and going to bed. I was waiting for that climax....This is a book people NEED to read...This could happen to you."
Yes, it could. That's exactly why I wrote this so girls can earn the red flags of a dangerous guy.
Full review at:
https://rachelauthorbarnard.com/2016/...
Yes, it could. That's exactly why I wrote this so girls can earn the red flags of a dangerous guy.
Full review at:
https://rachelauthorbarnard.com/2016/...
August 11, 2016
Skin of Tattoos: "Well-crafted, engaging" from Kirkus !!
Just in from Kirkus and I'm thrilled!
"Hoag tells the story of a gang member’s attempts to flee his life of crime in this debut novel.
After 26 months in prison, 20-year-old Magdaleno “Mags” Argueta knows he can’t go back to his previous life as a
member of the Cyco Lokos, one of Los Angeles’ most notorious Salvadoran street gangs. He’s hoping his time served
will earn him veteran status, allowing him to walk away without repercussions. Unfortunately, his crew is now under the
command of his chief rival, Rico, who’s less than sympathetic to his aspirations to go straight. What’s more, the only
jobs available to a tatted-up ex-con like Mags are demeaning, such as passing out fliers on the sidewalk while dressed as
a clown. At home, his family relationships remain strained: his mother sees him as a disappointment, his father as a
source of shame, and his fireman brother makes him look irresponsible by comparison. His sister, Lissy, still treats him
with affection, but he’s heard rumors that she’s hooked up with a member of a rival gang. Despite his pledges to stay out
of trouble, Mags finds that no one believes he’s up to the task. His parole officer tells him, “The life’s not going to let
you go so easy.” As hard as that is to hear, Mags knows that it might be the truth. Hoag is a talented writer, summoning
Mags’ world on the page with remarkable empathy and detail: “The sidewalks were crammed like a giant flea
market—people selling jeans, pots and pans, plastic bags of mango slices….Everything looked familiar and strange at
the same time, old and new, I belonged and I didn’t.” Despite a story that feels a bit well-trod, none of the characters
seem hastily constructed or come off as clichés. Their pressures and motivations are clearly stated and genuinely felt,
and readers will quickly become invested in Mags and his confrontation with an uncertain future. A sense of melodrama
flares toward the end as events start to feel less realistic and a little more heightened and Hollywood-ish. But the overall
experience is surprisingly nuanced and wholly enjoyable.
A well-crafted, engaging novel about an ex-con trying to break free."
"Hoag tells the story of a gang member’s attempts to flee his life of crime in this debut novel.
After 26 months in prison, 20-year-old Magdaleno “Mags” Argueta knows he can’t go back to his previous life as a
member of the Cyco Lokos, one of Los Angeles’ most notorious Salvadoran street gangs. He’s hoping his time served
will earn him veteran status, allowing him to walk away without repercussions. Unfortunately, his crew is now under the
command of his chief rival, Rico, who’s less than sympathetic to his aspirations to go straight. What’s more, the only
jobs available to a tatted-up ex-con like Mags are demeaning, such as passing out fliers on the sidewalk while dressed as
a clown. At home, his family relationships remain strained: his mother sees him as a disappointment, his father as a
source of shame, and his fireman brother makes him look irresponsible by comparison. His sister, Lissy, still treats him
with affection, but he’s heard rumors that she’s hooked up with a member of a rival gang. Despite his pledges to stay out
of trouble, Mags finds that no one believes he’s up to the task. His parole officer tells him, “The life’s not going to let
you go so easy.” As hard as that is to hear, Mags knows that it might be the truth. Hoag is a talented writer, summoning
Mags’ world on the page with remarkable empathy and detail: “The sidewalks were crammed like a giant flea
market—people selling jeans, pots and pans, plastic bags of mango slices….Everything looked familiar and strange at
the same time, old and new, I belonged and I didn’t.” Despite a story that feels a bit well-trod, none of the characters
seem hastily constructed or come off as clichés. Their pressures and motivations are clearly stated and genuinely felt,
and readers will quickly become invested in Mags and his confrontation with an uncertain future. A sense of melodrama
flares toward the end as events start to feel less realistic and a little more heightened and Hollywood-ish. But the overall
experience is surprisingly nuanced and wholly enjoyable.
A well-crafted, engaging novel about an ex-con trying to break free."
August 8, 2016
Great review from Kirkus on Girl on the Brink!!
"An engrossing tale of a dangerous teen romance." A debut novel shows that abusive relationships can occur in upper-middle-class suburban towns involving victims smart enough to know better.
Conducting an interview for her summer internship, 17-year-old Indian Valley resident Chloe Quinn encounters Kieran Dubrowski for the first time—and thinks he is annoying and intrusive. But Kieran is obviously interested in her. And with her brother and best friend both at camps, her father living with his girlfriend in New York City, and her mother escaping her marital difficulties with prescription medication and alcohol, Chloe not only agrees to go out with Kiernan, but finds his attention flattering. She overlooks his possessiveness—gratified that he is that involved with her—and dismisses his violent temper as an unfortunate result of his broken home. If her other friends seem resentful, she reasons that they are probably just jealous that she has a boyfriend. As Kieran’s behavior grows increasingly erratic, Chloe finally realizes that she needs to end the relationship, but her attempts to distance herself only lead to greater peril. Kieran proves himself to be not just abusive and emotionally disturbed, but also incredibly devious and canny, as he tries to turn the tables on her. Will Chloe break free, restore her battered relationships with friends and family, and regain her self-confidence? Hoag (co-author of Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence, 2014, etc.) creates teenage characters that are realistic, contemporary adolescents, not the typically idealized innocents. While there are hints of Kieran’s true nature, he is at first a likable character, if a bit narcissistic. Chloe’s vulnerability, due to her father’s physical and mother’s emotional desertions, enhance the reader’s ability to sympathize with her. Although largely a cautionary tale, the novel also contains enough suspense to keep it from becoming preachy. Teens may read it for the story, belatedly realizing that they’ve learned a lesson.
An engrossing tale of a dangerous teen romance.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
Conducting an interview for her summer internship, 17-year-old Indian Valley resident Chloe Quinn encounters Kieran Dubrowski for the first time—and thinks he is annoying and intrusive. But Kieran is obviously interested in her. And with her brother and best friend both at camps, her father living with his girlfriend in New York City, and her mother escaping her marital difficulties with prescription medication and alcohol, Chloe not only agrees to go out with Kiernan, but finds his attention flattering. She overlooks his possessiveness—gratified that he is that involved with her—and dismisses his violent temper as an unfortunate result of his broken home. If her other friends seem resentful, she reasons that they are probably just jealous that she has a boyfriend. As Kieran’s behavior grows increasingly erratic, Chloe finally realizes that she needs to end the relationship, but her attempts to distance herself only lead to greater peril. Kieran proves himself to be not just abusive and emotionally disturbed, but also incredibly devious and canny, as he tries to turn the tables on her. Will Chloe break free, restore her battered relationships with friends and family, and regain her self-confidence? Hoag (co-author of Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence, 2014, etc.) creates teenage characters that are realistic, contemporary adolescents, not the typically idealized innocents. While there are hints of Kieran’s true nature, he is at first a likable character, if a bit narcissistic. Chloe’s vulnerability, due to her father’s physical and mother’s emotional desertions, enhance the reader’s ability to sympathize with her. Although largely a cautionary tale, the novel also contains enough suspense to keep it from becoming preachy. Teens may read it for the story, belatedly realizing that they’ve learned a lesson.
An engrossing tale of a dangerous teen romance.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
February 8, 2015
Peace in the Hood selected as textbook
"Peace in the Hood: Working with Gang Members to End the Violence," a groundbreaking manual-memoir in the field of community violence intervention, is now a textbook in university courses and intervention training programs!
Professors in the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s forensic psychology program made Peace in the Hood required reading for students this fall.
Additionally, Peace in the Hood was recently selected as the textbook for Project Kinship a crisis intervention worker training program in Irvine, California, funded by the Catholic Diocese of Orange County and conducted in conjunction with USC. My co-author Aquil Basheer is also serving as an instructor in program. Peace in the Hood is also the text for the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute peacekeeper courses in Los Angeles, Seattle, Tacoma, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
Professors in the University of Southern California’s School of Social Work and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s forensic psychology program made Peace in the Hood required reading for students this fall.
Additionally, Peace in the Hood was recently selected as the textbook for Project Kinship a crisis intervention worker training program in Irvine, California, funded by the Catholic Diocese of Orange County and conducted in conjunction with USC. My co-author Aquil Basheer is also serving as an instructor in program. Peace in the Hood is also the text for the Professional Community Intervention Training Institute peacekeeper courses in Los Angeles, Seattle, Tacoma, Montgomery County, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
