MEET COMADRE KAREN D. GONZALES

 By Jacqueline Quiñones

 

 

When I interviewed Karen Gonzales for this edition the best way I can describe her is a woman of service who is passionate about helping other Latino writers.

 

A Denver native though her family comes from New Mexico, Karen has been a Comadre for about 13 years, and enjoys networking and staying in touch with many Comadres nationwide. 

 

Karen is also the coordinator of the Denver Las Comadres and Friends National Latino Book Club, and one of six founders CALMA (Colorado Alliance of Latino Mentors and Authors) that started in August 2020 during the COVID pandemic. The mission of the group is to celebrate and promote Latino authors in Colorado. They meet monthly on Zoom or in person to network, have roundtable discussions and help authors to start or finish their writings.

 

CALMA presently has 70 Latino Authors they are promoting on their website, including more than one fellow Comadre. There are also many other author events CALMA is planning at a high school, colleges and the Denver Woman’s Press Club that include workshops, writers competitions and poetry festivals in various Colorado cities. If you are interested in learning more about these authors go to Calmaco.org. 

 

Karen is also a short story writer herself with a fiction children's chapter book titled, The Mystery of La Llorona and Mister Lloron, which took her about five years to finish with ongoing editing and rewriting drafts. One of the CALMA members’ sister, Dolores Guerrero was the illustrator for the book. Recently she wrote a screenplay adapted from her book and she is submitting it to competitions. She also wrote a short story titled “The Ranch” in CALMA’s debut Anthology, Ramas y Raices: The Best of CALMA releasing June 29, 2024.

 

Karen paused when I asked who her favorite author was because there are so many that she likes, especially the ones that are highlighted on CALMA’s website. She did mention she reads a lot of books by New Mexico Author Carmen Baca. Another Author and book she mentioned, which I have also read, was Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya. 

 

This summer, Karen plans to enjoy several outdoor cultural festivals in Denver and church bazaars. She is also very fond of gardening, and has grown squash, calabazas, lettuce, cilantro, green beans, peas, tomatoes, radishes and beets. Plus, lots of reading and writing, of course.  #ReadLatinoLit 

This article appeared in the 2024 Summer Comadres Connect! Newsletter.  

Visit our website at www.lascomadres.com.

LAS COMADRES SPEAKER SERIES: Wed, Aug 31-- Hurdles in the Dark: Building the Next Generation of Diverse and Creative Entrepreneurs, Q&A with Elvira K. Gonzalez

Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it. --Oprah Winfrey

 

Greetings.  Please join us on Wednesday, August 31, at 7pm ET for a Q&A with Author, Founder, Activist, Athlete and Former Professional Track & Field Coach Elvira K. Gonzalez.  We're going to talk about growing up in Texas, trips to Mexico, breaking records of indoor track and field, writing and helping others to also find their voice.

Hurdles in the Dark:  Building the Next Generation of Diverse and Creative Entrepreneurs

Q&A with Elvira K. Gonzalez

Author, Founder, Activist, Athlete and Former Professional Track & Field Coach. 

Elvira Gonzalez grew up in Laredo Texas, a city that features prominently in her debut Young Adult Non-Fiction book, Hurdles in the Dark.  Elvira landed a six-figure, pre-empt deal with Roaring Brook Press of MacMillan Publishers for Spring 2023 publication.  She is the founder of Writers Inkubator, a literary online learning platform helping various writers find representation and landing book deals.  The company has partnered with InsideOUT Writers, a non-profit organization that conducts writing classes inside juvenile halls and prisons.  

Elvira is a former Track & Field coach at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coaching at UPenn, she trained a two-time Olympic hurdler for the 2017 IAFF World Championships in London, England and was the horizontal and vertical jumps private coach for The Armory, the premier indoor track & field in the United States. She is a member of the leadership committee When We Band Togethers' newest facility The Dave Schultz Sports & Wellness Center for Humanity in Lesvos, Greece, named after the greatest Olympic U.S wrestler. Elvira resides in New York City and Los Angeles. Visit her at https://elvirakgonzalez.com/.

 

Register here for her talk:  https://forms.gle/LEMsrsa8TP1mF5xW9

For the Speaker Series calendar, visit us here:  https://lascomadres.com/lco/speaker-series/