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Join us in celebrating THE GHOSTS OF RANCHO ESPANTO book birthday! We sat down with Musa Adrianna Cuevas to learn all about the inspiration behind this book.

But first, a little bit about this middle grade novel:

Rafa would rather live in the world of The Forgotten Age, his favorite role-playing game, than face his father’s increasing restrictions and his mother’s fading presence. But when Rafa and his friends decide to take the game out into the real world and steal their school cafeteria's slushie machine, his dad concocts a punishment Rafa never could’ve imagined―a month working on a ranch in New Mexico, far away from his friends, their game, and his mom’s quesitos in Miami. Life at Rancho Espanto isn’t as bad as Rafa initially expected, mostly due to Jennie, a new friend with similarly strong snack opinions, and Marcus, the veteran barn manager who's not as gruff as he appears. But when Rafa's work at the ranch is inexplicably sabotaged by a man who may not be what he seems, Rafa and Jennie explore what's behind the strange events at Rancho Espanto―and discover that the greatest mystery may have been with Rafa all along.
 
How would you describe your main character? Why did you create your character that way?
Rafa Alvarez is a pessimistic, anxious 12-year-old who always assumes the worst is going to happen. He has very strong opinions about food and processes the world through the lens of his favorite role playing game, The Forgotten Age. Of all the characters I’ve created, he’s probably the one most similar to me. I guess the adage of ‘write what you know’ is true!

Where did you get the idea to write this particular story?
In 2019, my sister invited me to volunteer at a ranch in northern New Mexico where she was going to work as an emergency wilderness medic. I lived in a run-down trailer with alarming orange shag carpet and got to spend my time sorting through boxes of book donations that all had cockroaches in the bottom. But as I worked there, I learned the history of the ranch and found that it was filled with ghost stories, monsters, and intrigue- the perfect place to set a story!
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​Adrianna Cuevas is the author of the Pura Belpre honor book The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez, Cuba in My Pocket, The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, and Mari and the Curse of El Cocodrilo. She is a first-generation Cuban-American originally from Miami, Florida. A former Spanish and ESOL teacher, Adrianna currently resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and son. When not working with TOEFL students, wrangling multiple pets including an axolotl, and practicing fencing with her son, she is writing her next middle grade novel.
 
Socials:
Twitter: @acuevaswrites 
IG: adriannacuevas
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Join us in celebrating SINCERELY SICILY'S book birthday! We sat down with debut Musa Tamika Burgess to learn all about the inspiration behind this book. 

But first, a little bit about Sincerely Sicily:

From debut author Tamika Burgess comes the captivating and empowering story of Sicily Jordan--a Black Panamanian fashionista who rocks her braids with pride--who learns to use her voice and take pride in who she is while confronting prejudice in the most unexpected of places.

​Today on the blog, we're here with an interview between Musa Rebecca Balcárcel and Musa Anika Fajardo, author of Meet Me Halfway.

About MEET ME HALFWAY:
When new classmates Mattie and Mercedes meet and realize they have the same Colombian dad, the two team up in a Parent Trap–inspired misadventure to meet him for the first time in this sharp and poignant middle grade novel about the bonds that make a family.

The offensive tradition? Teaching every 7th grader to square dance. Sounds innocent enough you say? Au contraire. While promenading and do-si-do-ing is fun to the grown-ups around her (in fact, Lupe’s mom remembers the moves and busts them out at the most embarrassing times), Lupe disagrees. Number one, square dancing isn’t cool. Number two, it’s not as athletic as climbing ropes or playing a sport. And what about the weird songs and lyrics? Lupe Wong is about to investigate!

Las Musas is thrilled to announce the cover reveal of Yamile Mendez's Shaking Up the House!

But first, a little about Shaking Up the House...

Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have lived there for eight years, but a new family is moving in, and the Lopez girls are determined to combine Ingrid’s comedic timing and Winnie’s quick thinking to give the new First Kids a proper White House welcome.
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Skylar and Zora know a lot of things about the White House—Zora loves history, and Skylar’s thrilled to begin her new A-list lifestyle. What the sisters don’t know is that incoming presidents’ families are often pranked by the folks they’re replacing, and Ingrid and Winnie take that tradition very seriously. 
When what is meant to be a friendly goof sets off an epic prank war, though, it’s only a matter of time before things spiral out of control. Can the four girls call a truce before an innocent trick sparks an international incident? Or will their battle go down in American history?