2025 International Latino Book Awards honors
CANDLELIGHT BRIDGE!
Candlelight Bridge has received Honorable Mention in Historical Fiction from the 2025 International Latino Book Awards! The nonprofit Empowering Latino Futures created the awards in 1997 to recognize excellence in literature by or about Latine people.
“In this stirring family saga set primarily in El Paso during the early 20th century, a multicultural family overcomes prejudice and adversity, but still struggles to remain intact.”
—Latino Book Review, Starred Review
“A deftly crafted, impressively original, and inherently interesting read from start to finish…”
—Midwest Book Review, Starred Review
“Many subplots contain surprising twists and turns right up to a cluster of life-changing decisions at the very end.”
—Historical Novel Society, Starred Review
Cara, The Author
Cara Lopez Lee’s novel, Candlelight Bridge (FlowerSong Press) is a 2025 Southwest Book of the Year, shortlister for the Hawthorne Prize, and honoree in the International Latino Book Awards. She’s also the author of the memoir They Only Eat Their Husbands. Her writing appears in such publications as Rivet, The Manifest-Station, and Writer’s Digest. She and her husband live in Ventura, California, where they enjoy tending their Certified Wildlife Habitat full of hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.
A 2025 Pick in Fiction in Southwest Books of the Year!
Selected for its “unflinching take on the sacrifices women make to steer their families through hard times.”
Candlelight Bridge, A Novel
In 1910, Candelaria Rivera and Yankee Wong flee a rising storm of revolution and loss in their far-flung countries of Mexico and China. Their two stories collide in America’s borderlands. Candlelight Bridge is not a romance but a tale of grudging partners struggling to survive the American Dream.
Praise for Candlelight Bridge
—Eleanor Parker Sapia, multi-award-winning author of A Decent Woman, a Novel
—Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything
—Lisa Brackmann, NYT best-selling author of Rock Paper Tiger
Cara, The Storyteller
“Telling true personal stories is the most powerful force for good I’ve found. The more we share our stories, the more we recognize our common humanity, the beauty in our differences, and the community we all yearn for.” —Cara Lopez Lee
Cara is a winner of The Moth StorySLAM, and is featured in many true personal storytelling shows, including Risk, Tell It, and Strong Words. You’ll find her most anticipated shows on her Events Page, but to keep up with all her events, please follow @CaraLopezLee on TikTok & Bluesky.
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Cara’s Storytelling Videos, Published Writing, and Thoughts
L.A. Freeway Fail – Cara Live at The Moth StorySLAM
I grew up in Los Angeles, so I was sure that driving was in my blood. It was not. This became ridiculously clear one long and scary night in L.A. I shared this story at The Moth StorySLAM, in the city where it all went down:
Events
2025
If you don’t see Events posted here this time around, it just means Cara is busy writing the sequel to Candlelight Bridge!
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You can contact me at cara@caralopezlee.com or use the button below.
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