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Candlelight Bridge, A Novel
In 1910, twelve-year-old Candelaria Rivera and her family flee across the Chihuahuan desert to America so her father and brother can escape getting drafted into Mexico’s Federales, and so her whole family can escape the rising storm of the Mexican Revolution. Meanwhile, twenty-year-old Yan Chi Wong flees the Chinese Revolution and a devastating loss, also bound for America, where he’s nicknamed Yankee.
Down the road, this unlikely pair meet in the border town of El Paso, where they discover each has something the other needs to help them meet the challenges of life on the edge of America. Together they build a life, help Chinese immigrants cross the U.S.-Mexico border, and start a business. But soon a terrible desire threatens to destroy their lives.
Candlelight Bridge is not a romance, but a tale of refugees seeking home in a world that doesn’t want them, of a young woman saving her family in a world ruled by men, of grudging partners struggling to survive the American Dream.
Praise for Candlelight Bridge
“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
“…Cara Lopez Lee has raised her novel to an impressive level of literary excellence. A deftly crafted, impressively original, and inherently interesting read from start to finish…”
—Midwest Book Review, Starred Review
“The literary prose delves into the innermost thoughts and secrets of the main characters. 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
—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, bestselling author of Woman of Light and Sabrina & Corina
—Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Good Night, Irene and The Hummingbird’s Daughter
—Vanessa Hua, author of Forbidden City
They Only Eat Their Husbands
Love, Travel, and the Power of Running Away
After a lover threatens to kill her, 26-year-old Cara Lopez Lee runs away to Alaska. There, she lands in a love triangle with two alcoholics: Sean, the martial artist, and Chance, the paramedic. Nine years later, sick of love, she runs away again, to backpack around the world—alone. This memoir recounts one woman’s journey to self-discovery with dazzling honesty and humor, taking readers with her on a year-long trek through China, Nepal, Thailand, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Ireland, with reflections on her nine years in Alaska.
Praise for They Only Eat Their Husbands
“It’s rare when an author really opens up and divulges her innermost insecurities. Cara Lopez Lee… brings the reader right into her roller coaster world…”
—Susan Blumberg-Kason, author of the bestselling memoir, Good Chinese Wife
“The characters are as well drawn as those in novels, the relationship dynamics fascinating, and the journey of self-discovery very satisfying.”
—Barbara Wright, author of the award-winning novel, Plain Language
“They Only Eat Their Husbands is a witty and moving story that truly captures the sense of wonder, self-discovery and adventure that unfolds when one throws caution to the wind and ventures out into the world alone.”
—Anne Fox, award-winning series producer for the Travel Channel
“Lee writes candidly about her adventurous—and sometimes tumultuous—journey through life. Her vivid prose draws you into that journey. Her passion makes you want to stay for the ride.”
—Valorie Burton, best-selling author of 10 books on living a fulfilling life, including Get Unstuck and What’s Really Holding You Back?
Where There’s a Will
A Novel
World War II hero Will Miner is close with his grandson, seventeen-year-old musician Dylan Mercer. So when Dylan’s best friend dies, he runs away to Grandpa’s to hide from his memory and his future. Dylan escapes choosing between college and rock-and-roll, disappears into the stories of eighty-one-year-old Grandpa Will, and discovers a surprise: before Will became a hero, he was a young rebel. Will’s tales of the circus, Route 66, riding the rails, and fighting a war, reveal he’s hiding his own losses. Where There’s a Will takes readers under the surface of one hot Tennessee summer, as grandfather and grandson spill secrets and discover a true bond between men.
Unexpected Prisoner
Memoir of a Vietnam POW
When Lieutenant Robert Wideman’s plane crashed on a bombing run in the Vietnam War, he feared falling into enemy hands. Although he endured the kind of pain that makes people question humanity, physical torture was not his biggest problem. During six years as a prisoner of war, he saw the truth behind Jean-Paul Sartre’s words: “Hell is other people.” Unexpected Prisoner looks at how soldiers trapped in war often have the most troubling conflicts with those on the same side. Wideman’s memoir explores a POW’s struggle with enemies and comrades, Vietnamese interrogators and American commanders, his lost dreams and ultimately himself.
Praise for Unexpected Prisoner
“An eye-opener. I had developed a totally different picture of POW existence. Unexpected Prisoner is a must-read.”
—Billy Thornton, PhD, Vietnam War Veteran
“This is a truly remarkable account of experiences from within the walls of captivity.”
—Rick Fischer, Vietnam War Veteran, Army Pathfinder shot down in 1969
“Unless you were there, you will never truly understand what it was like being a POW in Vietnam. Robert Wideman and his remarkable book do an incredible job of putting you there!”
—Brad Hoopes, author of Reflections of Our Gentle Warriors
