Blurb:
Conquered is a passionate love
story, as much about its main characters, Guam native Jesi Taimanglo and
American GI Johan Landers, as it is about author Paula Quinene’s passion for
Guam itself. As her characters try to find a place for themselves amid the war,
Jesi’s relatives, and the Chamorro traditions, Quinene charts a path through a
seldom told story: Guam’s place in WWII. An original idea written with an
original voice that invites readers in to the exotic world of the Pacific,
complete with coconut trees, banana doughnuts, dolphins swimming in the ocean,
and moonlight on Pago Bay, Conquered also recounts the brutal horrors of the
Japanese occupation on Guam, a US territory largely forgotten back in the
States. In addition to learning about a singular and little-known culture that
has played a part in the world wars of the Pacific, readers will undoubtedly
crave the recipe for banana doughnuts.
—Stacey Donovan, Writer, Editor, and Author of Dive
—Stacey Donovan, Writer, Editor, and Author of Dive
Excerpt:
“Drink,” she said.
Johan closed his eyes and took a
sip. Then a gulp. Coolness spread through his body. She’s nice. It was the most
delicious thing he’d put on his tongue. Refreshing. The girl held the cup for
him until he finished.
“Thank you.”
The girl nodded.
She set the cup aside and stepped
away to pick up the coconut and machete again. Keeping her left hand out of the
way, the girl held the machete in her right hand, centered it on the coconut,
and hit the coconut in the middle. It split in half. She brought the coconut to
him. Using the skin that was between her teeth, she scooped the coconut flesh
and fed him.
Johan savored the soft meat. It
wasn’t as sweet as the stuff his granny used to sprinkle on cake. But it was
really good.
The girl was about five feet and
a couple inches, and it looked as if she could use something to eat, though she
wasn’t as thin as the other refugees he’d seen. She wasn’t trembling anymore.
When she finished, she set aside the spent coconut and cardboard.
“Thank you, Miss. My name is
Johan. What’s your name?”
She narrowed her eyes at him for
a moment.
“Jesi, my name is Jesi.”
Her voice was pleasant. He was
exhausted. What is it about her eyes? She stood up, startling him, and walked
deeper into the cave.
Author Bio and Links:
Paula Quinene was born and raised
on Guam. She graduated from the University of Oregon in 1997 with a bachelor’s
of science in Exercise & Movement Science, hoping to return to the island
as an anatomy teacher. A resident of North Carolina since 2000, Paula’s
homesickness – or “mahalangness” – has motivated Paula to write A Taste of
Guam, Remember Guam, both cookbooks, and her first novel, Conquered. Paula’s
home on the web is www.paulaq.com.
Good morning Emily! Thank you for sharing my book. Did you know anything about Guam prior to this novel?
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThe cover looks great and it sounds intriguing.
ReplyDeleteThank you H.B. I actually hired the male model, Jimmy Thomas, of Romancenovelcovers.com, to produce several images for me to choose from. I sent a handful of the images to the cover artist who worked her magic to create the final cover.
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