Dr. Irene I. Blea, author and former chair of the Mexican American Studies department at California State University–Los Angeles was interviewed about her writing and the next volume in her novel trilogy which began with Suzanna. Here’s an excerpt. Catch the rest here.
What motivates you to write?
Social justice. I’m the child of a labor organizer and was active in the Chicano and Womens civil rights movements of the 1960s. I’ve written several university Sociology textbooks and articles for classroom use and library reference material, poetry and now write novels with social justice themes. My first novel, Suzanna, reflects how young girls were married off to older men in 1920s New Mexico and explores the alternatives for women of the time. Suzanna makes a controversial choice. That choice makes up the next two books in the trilogy.
Borderlands History 