Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.~ Frederick Douglass
Authors Speak
This Succeed and Soar series invites writers to answer questions about their artforms and special inspirations.
Welcome Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa.
Photograph [c] 2017 LaToya Ruby Frazier
Sandra at Homewood Branch,
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Ms. Llanos-Figueroa, what phrase inspires your writing and life?
“Write what should not be forgotten.” Isabel Allende
How have Allende’s words helped your writing, your life?
I write historical fiction about 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico because I could never find myself in the stories I was given to read. I wanted to give the people in my life faces and voices that were denied to them in this society. I wanted to substitute authenticity and truth for the stereotype and caricature that were projected in the media. Silence and erasure are forms of genocide. I hope that my work opens the door and presents a clear and present image of the diversity that is the fabric of America.
How these words inspired Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s book Daughters of the Stone.
Daughters of the Stone, the first book in the series, follows the lives of enslaved Africans from the perspective of five generations of Afro-Puerto Rican women. Their journey begins with capture in West Africa, to life in plantation society Puerto Rico, to immigration to urban America.
Sample Text:
These are the stories. My stories, their stories — just as they were told to my mother and her mother and hers. They were given to me for safekeeping and now I give them to you.
Daughters of the Stone is available at Bookshop.org , local independent bookstores and major online book retailers.
Meet the Author
Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa writes historical fiction about the Afro-Puerto Rican experience from capture in West Africa to life in 19th century plantation society in Puerto Rico to urban New York City. Daughters of the Stone and A Woman of Endurance are her first two published novels..
Web Site: www.dahlmallanosfigueroa.com
Follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest @DahlmaLlanosFigueroa
Twitter @writer1949
https://www.facebook.com/DaughtersoftheStone/
Photo Credit: Matvey Zabbi Photography
Keep in mind,
This Month, Warm Body, Mind and Spirit with Coffee Mugs from Succeed & Soar’s “Eleanor’s Insights” Collection.
Visit the Eleanor’s Insights posts.
- Ceramic
- Dishwasher and microwave safe
- Available in two sizes [11 ounce and 15 ounce]
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