Lucía Zárate by Cecilia Velástegui



I am happy to be a stop today on Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour’s Book Blast for  Lucia Zarate, a new book that shares the tale of young woman born in a difficult time for someone with a physical deformity. Read on to learn more.



Lucía Zárate by Cecilia Velástegui
Publication Date: June 5, 2017
Libros Publishing
Hardcover & eBook; 278 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
In this thrilling new historical novel, award-winning author Cecilia Velástegui again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding and haunting period pieces. Lucía Zárate is based on the poignant, real-life odyssey of the world’s smallest woman.
Pretty and gregarious, Lucía Zárate was just twenty inches tall. A celebrity after her ‘display’ at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition, Lucía’s extraordinary, heartbreaking story is one of exploitation by greedy sideshow hucksters and a fishbowl existence on the road, from New York to Victorian London.
Snatched away from her parents at the age of twelve from Veracruz, Mexico, minuscule Lucía Zárate began her life’s arduous journey among Frank Uffner’s traveling troupe, in the care of an interpreter and protector. Despite Velástegui’s rigorous and extensive research, the name of Lucía’s interpreter has disappeared with the dust of time. Nonetheless, Velástegui masterfully creates Zoila, Lucía’s companion, as a character of depth and emotion.
Zoila is a woman who’s felt the sting of exploitation and exile at the hands of powerful vanilla growers in Mexico: her linguistic talents, wily temperament and compassion help her protect Lucia at all costs. She foils kidnapping attempts, teaches Lucia how to hold her own among European royalty, and facilitates a budding romance between Lucia and General Mite, a member of the traveling troupe of little people.
We follow the adventures of diminutive Lucía Zárate and the devoted Zoila as they grapple with life and death, finding joy and adventure in their bumpy sideshow journey of more than fourteen years. This is an artfully balanced novel that is a mesmerizing tale of survival, resilience, and the uplifting force of friendship.

About the Author
Cecilia Velástegui was born high up in the Andes mountains in Quito, Ecuador, where she spent her childhood. Although she now lives at sea level in Monarch Beach, California, she still has two friendly alpacas, Tupac and Khipus. Cecilia was raised in California and France, and has traveled extensively in over 50 countries. Her favorite country is always the most recent country she visited.
She received her graduate degree from the University of Southern California, and speaks four languages. She was a marriage and family therapist, but now she is a devoted writer. Cecilia is on the board of directors of several cultural and educational institutions.
Cecilia Velástegui’s novels include Gathering the Indigo Maidens, Traces of Bliss, Missing in Machu Picchu, Parisian Promises, Blessings from the Edge, and Lucía Zárate.
For more information please visit Cecilia Velástegui’s website: http://ceciliavelastegui.com/

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