Queen of the Flowers: New Release

PRESERVING PUERTO RICO’S HISTORY

New book Queen of the Flowers – Memories of a Puerto Rican Girl recounts the way the country used to be long before Hurricane Maria destroyed it.

MONTGOMERY, Alabama – In 2018 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and destroyed over 70,000 houses and damaged 300,000 more. Much of the historical structures and countryside were flattened and left in ruins. In her new book Queen of the Flowers: Memories of a Puerto Rican Girl, author Delia Cerpa preserves the island’s culture and history through her deft storytelling about her childhood memories growing up in this tropical paradise.

Cerpa even pays homage to the island by including her concerns over family members during the horrific hurricane. She has a deep respect for her fellow Puerto Ricans. Writing the book about her childhood years during the 1950s gave her an opportunity to share with the world her experiences, family life, and culture from a bygone era.

“Over the years, I told my son and nieces and nephews so much about the island and my childhood,” said Cerpa. “They kept asking me to write it down. Just as I began writing Queen of the Flowers, Hurricane Maria struck the island and destroyed so much of its history. Then I realized I needed to write this book to tell people about how it used to be. I wanted others to see the island and its people through my eyes as a child. I wanted to share about my family and most especially my remarkable Mamá, who became a young widow and skillfully raised 10 children on her own.”

Queen of the Flowers is a charming coming-of-age story about young Garîn who loses her Papá as an infant. He becomes a haunting figure in her life even though she has no memory of him. The loss and impact put Mamá, now a widow, in charge of her 10 children’s upbringing. Garín though has an incredible childhood surrounded by her brothers and sisters. Readers learn about the culture and experience growing up in an agrarian society full of natural wonders, and the deep bonds created through the people so closely connected to the land.

Cerpa’s storytelling allows readers to discover this bygone era through the eyes of a child and preteen. As she grows and changes, readers vicariously enjoy seeing that world as Garín viewed it. From playing a game of Shazam to learning to sew her own gorgeous dress to her charming singing and dancing that wins her the title Queen of the Flowers. Written much like best-selling author Laura Ingalls Wilder, who recounts life as a pioneer child on the prairie, Cerpa takes readers into a new kind of pioneer world, a tropical paradise full of rich family history and tight relationships that shape the rest of her life.

Queen of the Flowers is available in print on 3L Publishing’s website (www.3LPublishing.com) and Amazon, and eBook for Kindle, Nook and Apple iBook. For more information or to set up an interview, please contact 3L Publishing at 916-300-8012.