Back in 2009, I promoted Wonder/Wander on local cable-access shows: "Tu Opinion Cuenta" (with William Pena), "The Callaloo Express" (with Lynnette Laveau Save), and "El Show de Fernandito" (with Fernando Bossa). Below is the interview from "El Show de Fernandito" (7min 15sec; English and Spanish).
Each appearance was fun and forced me to find the language--in both languages--for talking about the book, the journey, and the reasons for both. At that time, I was waiting tables at Orinoco Kitchen in Brookline Village where we had a small display of Wonder/Wander books for sale. I rarely pushed them, but customers would browse and from time-to-time someone came to dine who was from Venezuela or had traveled Central America or had a son interested in Spanish language or who just identified with the spirit of the work and they would buy a copy from me, their waiter. I enjoyed that serendipitous sales approach. I never expected Wonder/Wander to climb the sales charts or be thrust on people whom it didn't interest. Instead, I think books are as diverse as people, and we need to find the ones that resonate with and inside of us. Even as I use social media as a promotions tool, I believe that books find their readers and readers find their books through much subtler channels: the same ones that connect us to friends or lovers.
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