Blog
The Ponytail Holder – Cara’s Story for Family Fun Time at “Tell It!”
I shared this story, The Ponytail Holder, in Los Angeles, at the great Pablo Marz‘s Family Fun Time episode of Tell It! Personal true stories told live onstage. Heads up: this story includes themes of mental illness, which is not always fun in the family. But sometimes, at the end of our wits, what’s left to do except laugh?
Family History, Real & Imagined – Cara talks about Candlelight Bridge on Colorado Public Radio
Can’t play this cool at all, nor do I wish to. After 18 years of research and writing, it feels fitting to revel in the warm welcome my multicultural novel, Candlelight Bridge, is receiving from readers and reviewers. I’m excited to share starred reviews from such stellar publications as Latino Book Review, Midwest Book Review, and the Historical Novel Society…but my geekiest squeal of joy came when Colorado Public Radio invited me to an interview. I wrote most of Candlelight Bridge while living in Denver, and often dreamed of discussing it on Colorado Matters! If you have 19 minutes to listen here, you’ll hear what makes this historical novel a story for our times.
Old Mr. Ma – Cara’s Story at Women Writers, Women’s Books
My historical novel, Candlelight Bridge, has just been released by FlowerSong Press. I grew up with my Mexican-and-Chinese American Grandma, and Candlelight Bridge was inspired by the stories she told me: tales of secret immigrants, mixed-race children, and trauma passed down like an inheritance from generation to generation.
My research for this novel took me to China, San Francisco, and the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico. I wandered villages and archaeological sites, visited museums and historical societies, read histories of all sorts, interviewed family members and locals and historians. All to imagine the story of a young man from China and young girl from Mexico immigrating to America in the early 1900s.
I’ve told the story of one research adventure in front of many audiences, and in honor of my book’s release, today you can read Old Mr. Ma at the literary magazine, Women Writers, Women’s Voices. May it remind us, we need not view the past as either curse or blessing, but rather an opportunity to discover who we are and all that connects us.
Lost in L.A. – Cara’s Story for the Strong Words Holiday(s) Show
Getting Lost In L.A. is a rite of passage for Angelenos, and I’m no exception, though I don’t live there anymore. This is my favorite version of that story so far, thanks to the big-hearted community of Larry Dean Harris’ storytelling show, Strong Words. His Holiday(s) Show really did make me laugh and cry! What’s more, the L.A. Public Library’s Taper Auditorium made for a great recording. You’ll find me at 24:00, but I hope you’ll kick back and enjoy it all because everyone brought their A-game! Wait till you hear the true confessions of a Macy’s Santa…
About Cara
Cara Lopez Lee is the author of the novel, Candlelight Bridge, and the memoir, They Only Eat Their Husbands. She’s a winner of The Moth StorySLAM and is featured in many personal storytelling shows. Her writing appears in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, Manifest-Station, and Rivet. Cara and her husband love traveling, but their home is coastal Ventura, California, where they enjoy tending their Certified Wildlife Habitat full of birds, bees, and butterflies.
