graduating from the University of Texas at El Paso, she commissioned as a signal officer in the US Army and rose to the rank of major before transitioning out of the military. She holds an MBA from Webster University and a doctorate in international business from Liberty University. When not writing, she serves as cofounder and vice president for Ashire Technologies & Services Inc., a cybersecurity firm specializing in securing federal information systems. She lives in central Florida.
Jerez applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, At the Island's Edge, and reported the following:
From page 69:Visit C.I. Jerez's website.“Salud,” Dolores and Eli reply in unison as she pulls out the seat beside me.The rest of the page describes the connection between Dolores and Eli through a fellow soldier who was from Puerto Rico and passed away.
“Can I offer you something to eat?” Eli asks, placing a menu in front of us. “A little food in your belly might be a good idea before this one over here,” he says, pointing in my direction, “ends up three sheets to the wind.”
I give him my best give-me-a-break face, and Dolores smiles politely, but she doesn’t understand Eli’s southern colloquialisms.
I think page 69 provides readers with an excellent example of how I wanted to take two unique cultures that were, in theory, very different and weave them together in a natural and harmonious manner. This book takes a unique approach to a Latino-based setting by showing the reader the similarities within the unique American culture. This Page 69 Test also worked well for my book because you get a scene with three very important people in the novel: the protagonist, who is already showing her affinity for drinking away her troubles, her cousin, who has a penchant for drawing attention, and the outsider from South Carolina who has set up his new life on the island. The novel weaves these three characters together throughout the story and their lives do collide in ways we didn’t expect. I believe page 69 does a great job of foreshadowing those connections but also providing a firsthand account of the cultural intricacies in this book and how a traditional American who has never been to Puerto Rico may see or experience the island, and how some of the islanders may react to them. I believe this page also shows the welcoming spirit of the Puerto Rican people, while highlighting the sweetness and often laid-back lifestyle they tend to enjoy on “island time.”
My Book, The Movie: At the Island's Edge.
--Marshal Zeringue
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