Twisted Cross

Teens

synopsis

Synopsis

In 1795, eighteen-year-old Salvador Tenorio and his best friend, Blas, embark upon the most adventurous journey of their lives, leaving their impoverished families and painful memories behind in Imperial Spain. On a quest to find adventure, the clever young Spaniard battles the demons of his past and religious uncertainty on an epic expedition to the New World.

Determined to make the best out of their challenging circumstances, they aspire to claw their way out of poverty. Sal and Blas discover more than they ever imagined as they witness the fragmented cultures of California’s native people. Tangling with corrupted padres and escaping from ruthless pirates, they realize that all that glitters is not gold. Sal and Blas must quickly learn the rules of the sea and the new western frontier—or die trying. Can Sal handle his own twisted secrets and rise from the depths of his past while discovering his own purpose in life?

bio

Author Biography

Dr. Perez Ferguson is a cross-cultural educator and consultant. Her fiction brings to life the voices of California inhabitants living 200 years ago. She has twice won the Best YA Fiction Award from the San Francisco Writers Conference, 2021 and 2022.

Regarding Broken Promises:

"The tightly wound plot flows effortlessly from one moment to the next.... readers will find themselves inspired by the future Sparrow creates for herself and those around her." — Kirkus Reviews

Her non-fiction promotes the voices of under-represented communities in the twenty-first century. This earned her the 2014 Lacayo Lifetime Achievement Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute. She is an Advisor and Former Chair for the InterAmerican Foundation and a former Visiting Lecturer for the Council for Independent Colleges. She enjoys living and writing on the Pacific coast.

website

Author Insight

Transition - what now?

Some life transitions are subtle, coming upon us when we are unaware. Others are so momentous we cannot possibly miss them. In either case, the consequences of a transition are unknown until long after the change occurs. The characters in Twisted Cross, locked in a prison cell in Cadiz Spain, prepared themselves for execution. At the last moment, an unexpected transition sets them, and our story, on a fresh course. I invite you to join me in the story, Twisted Cross, and the sequels to follow, that introduces us to the New World in a novel way.

Book Excerpt

Twisted Cross

“Fíjate, just imagine, Blas, we’re blessed, not sentenced to death!” Sal inhaled new hope until he saw the truth of their predicament. They were forced from the jail and sentenced to servitude with the Spanish military. Soldiers hustled them toward the dock where they boarded a huge Spanish galleon. It was the same ship they had tried to steal food from.

“¡Estùpidos! Show some respect to our Royal Representative, Josè de Gàlvez, the King’s Viceroy to New Spain,” the soldiers said. The soldiers hit each passenger on the head and commanded them to bow as they passed the fat man.

“Did he say Nueva España, New Spain?” Blas asked. He stumbled on the gangplank. The gigantic ship swayed and creaked underfoot.

“Remember that story about the man who got swallowed by the whale?” Sal asked. He could feel the ship swallowing them, body and soul. He dreamed of taking exciting risks, but not this way. Was he dragging Blas into another nightmare?

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Anita Perez Ferguson

Twisted Cross

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Transition - what now?

Book Excerpt

Twisted Cross

Comment on this Bubble