Sons of Cuba series by Elllen W. Martin

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We asked Ellen, "Anything new coming up from you? What?"

An interesting question since it took me over twenty years to publish my historical fiction series SONS OF CUBA – PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION AND SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING. They both were finally released late last fall.

Funny thing, no make that sad, for some authors occasionally a phantom demon called discouragement, maybe lack of desire slithers into the brain and steals the muse. At the very least encases it in cobwebs so thick one wonders if they’ll ever find the passion and the enthusiasm to write again. In my case “Master Muse” seemed lost forever. I wasn’t sure I even remembered why I wanted to write books. To my amazement after the series SONS OF CUBA was finally published, two additional books hidden deep in the depths of my imagination clawed their way out.

When the juices started flowing, what I learned was I no longer had the desire to write historical fiction. Don’t get me wrong, writing the series SONS OF CUBA was a fascinating journey, and one I’ll never regret taking. In fact seventeen years later when U.S. citizens could finally visit Cuba, my husband and I were on the first ship heading that way. I needed to see the country, meet the people, and drink in as much of their culture as I could.

However, in hindsight I often wonder why I chose that particular genre to begin a writing career in the first place. My passion lies in suspense/thriller/murder mystery genre. That’s what I’ve read most of my life, and that’s how I lived when I was in my twenties – seeking the thrill of adventure and intrigue.
Just this week I started the process for publishing my next novel – INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN – SNARED BY THEIR OWN LIES. This suspense/thriller weaves a tangled tale of a father caught in a twenty-year old lie he told his daughter when she was only a child. Now his greatest fear is losing her trust forever. Before he can seek forgiveness, he must race against time to save her from a jihadist’s sleeper cell — leaving a trail of murder in his wake. This book hopefully will be released late October 2020.

Over the last several months while our country attempts to adhere to social distancing, etc., I spent the time writing the first draft of my fourth book – SHATTERED LOYALTIES. This suspense/thriller is about a journalist who blew up a promising career in Washington D.C. Instead of interviewing heads of state, she is living in New Orleans writing obituaries for a local newspaper. When the President makes a campaign stop in the Crescent City, her editor gives her a second chance to redeem herself.

Unfortunately old demons are awakened. The course of action she chooses triggers a maelstrom of events — leading to betrayal, suspense, political intrigue, murder, but most of all, Shattered Loyalties.

I truly hope you will take the opportunity to read the two book series SONS OF CUBA. Take the journey with the young rebel who had dreams to free Cuba from tyranny, only to become the very thing he hated the most as a young man. Book II of SONS of CUBA continues to follow the rebel into victory, but focuses on the struggles, disappointments, and despair of one family who must survive under Cuba’s new leadership – the leadership of the very man they had placed their hopes for a brighter future for their beloved Cuba.

Relentless political turmoil streams through the veins of Cuba like lava coursing down the side of a volcano holding the Cuban people hostage to tyranny since Christopher Columbus discovered the Caribbean Island. One wonders if the country’s destiny can ever change.

In BOOK I – SONS OF CUBA – PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION Felipe Cardena, the rebel, endures lost love, the exhilaration of victory, demoralizing disappoints, imprisonment, exile, and an assassination attempt. Nothing will stop Felipe Cardena until he achieves his ultimate goal — free Cuba from tyranny.

In BOOK II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING after victory is declared by the Cuban rebels, the plot shifts away from the revolution and centers on Tangi Montolio, a fiery redheaded activist who once was one of the rebel leader’s most passionate supporters. Tangi and her family become a victim and suffers under the hands of Felipe Cardena’s new leadership. The rebel now turned dictator will discover that his brief interaction with Tangi will lead to the destruction of his legacy.

Read an Excerpt from Sons of Cuba: Homecoming (Book 2)

TANGI rushed over and picked up the now hysterical Andrés. Her eyes widened. Standing at the front door was that same disgusting soldier that had harassed her at the plaza; three others were behind him, rifles in hand. Once again, he leered at her. She looked down; her blouse was still open. She buttoned the top button and held Andrés close.

Ramon Miguel stepped between Tangi, Fernando, and the soldier. “What can we do for you?” He asked.

“I told you, I’m looking for Fernando Reyes. Are you he?”

Ramon stared at the soldier; his eyes narrowed. “Maybe, but tell me first why you’re here.”

The soldier waved a piece of paper in front of Ramon’s face. “This is about you turning your farm over to the government.”

Fernando pushed Ramon aside and snapped, “I’ll do no such thing. That land has been in my family for generations. Besides, what would the government want with a few meager acres?”

The soldier looked first at Ramon, and then at Fernando. “Okay, which one of you is Reyes?

Fernando yanked the papers from the soldier’s hands. “I told you I am. What is this?” He asked, shaking the papers in the soldier’s face.

“It’s the deed to your land. Sign it; sign it now without argument. If you don’t, we have a prison cell waiting for you.”

Ramon Miguel took the papers from Fernando’s trembling hands, and glanced over the legal document. He turned his back on the soldiers and pulled the old man aside. “I’m afraid you have no choice,” he whispered. “You wouldn’t survive a week in jail, and I can’t go to prison for you. Who’d take care of Tangi and the baby?”

About the Author:After a lifetime of personal adventures, travel and escapades (a lot of risky escapades), author Ellen Martin, is living her sunset years bouncing around a tennis court or clicking away on her keyboard.

Outrage at social injustices, the thrill for suspense, and unraveling a good mystery are triggers that motivate Ellen to write memorable stories and colorful characters.

Over 30 years as a military wife, she has resided both in the Orient and in Europe where she became no stranger to social injustice and poverty. She and her family have lived in the Philippines, Japan, Italy, and the Netherlands — not to mention both U.S. coasts and Kansas in the winter. She is fascinated by real-life, colorful personalities.

On a more personal note Ellen was a flight attendant for the Charter Airline Saturn in the 1960’s. Her job was escorting United States troops in and out of Viet Nam. Her adventures in the war zone continued until she was swept away by her fighter pilot husband.

After retirement the couple’s travels included Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungry, Spain, Scotland, and Ireland and topped off with a visit to Cuba.

God gifted Ellen with one “perfect” son and three grandchildren.

You wrap all this in a package and Ellen has been rewarded with an endless supply of fodder for her fiction.

In her historical fiction Book-I SONS OF CUBA–PRELUDE TO REVOLUTION she weaves an embellished tale of the most notorious and charismatic Cuban rebel in modern history. There’s a chance you might find him charming, intriguing and actually root for him in his early endeavors to free his beloved Cuba from tyranny.

However, in Book II - SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the story takes the reader from the rebel’s exile in Mexico to preparation for the revolution from the Mountains of the Sierra Maestra. This is where you will meet the fiery redheaded peasant girl, Tangi. The narrative shifts its focus from the revolution and centers around the fictional character, Tangi, and her family’s struggles, fears and disappointments in the new regime.

How the story in real life ends is no secret. But, in Book II – SONS OF CUBA – HOMECOMING, the characters and the author may just get the last word.

In 2020 Ellen’s new book INTO THE DEVIL’S DEN turns from historical events to present day reality – Terrorism — terrorism in our own backyard.

Check out her website for excerpts from her books: https://www.booksbyellen.com
Amazon buy links:

Prelude to Revolution: https://www.amazon.com/SONS-CUBA-BOOK-Prelude-Revolution-ebook/dp/B081LMXDHK/
Homecoming: https://www.amazon.com/SONS-CUBA-BOOK-II-HOMECOMING-ebook/dp/B082WSVJT6/

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