New Book Release: Concerted Assault - by J. Michael King

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

Tim and Jessica’s enjoyable evening at a Shakira concert with their friend Rafael is crushed when they witness an assault in a parking garage in downtown Phoenix. They videorecord two male assailants and a female victim before fleeing the garage and returning to their home near Tucson.

Through amateur detective work by Tim and using Jessica’s network of friends, they manage to find the assault victim, Lupe Aguilar, a 17-year-old high school senior who lives with her undocumented single mother, Juana. Lupe uses her memory of the assault and her extraordinary drawing talents to create mug shots, which the Phoenix Police use to identify and arrest the suspects, two of their own police officers.

Out of fear of retaliation by the Phoenix Police, Lupe and Juana relocate to Tucson, where disaster strikes again. Juana is detained by La Migra, US Immigration, shattering Lupe’s world. Lupe calls on Tim and Jessica to help her free Juana. They, along with friends, organize peaceful, grassroots college protests and social media blitz campaigns, with Lupe as the figurehead, in an attempt to force powerful politicians up for reelection to release Juana.

Will the effort be enough to free Juana? Will Lupe become stronger from the horrific experiences so early in life, or will she fall into a deep depression? What will Lupe’s team learn from the experience?

About the author:

The author earned Engineering degrees from North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was employed by a large US manufacturer of diesel engines, holding various positions. He worked and lived in Spain for eight years, traveling throughout western Europe. He also worked in numerous Latin American Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic.

The author resides in southern Arizona, USA, and enjoys traveling, learning, hiking, practicing Spanish, wine tasting, and attending concerts.

New Book Release: THE GRAND NAVIDAD - By J. Michael King

 

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When Bill Jordan reluctantly answers a phone call from a Mexican work colleague on Christmas Eve at his home in southern Arizona, the lives of Bill and his wife Linda take an unexpected turn. The Garcia family from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, is stranded in their broken-down car at a local shopping center. The Jordans bring Pedro Garcia, his wife Carla, and their two young daughters to their spacious, comfortable home. They feed and house them for three days, show them some sites in the area, and Bill repairs the Garcias’ car. In return, Pedro completes the Jordans' partially finished outdoor brick gas grill, an unanticipated late Christmas present.

Several months later, the Garcias return to Arizona to visit the Jordans. Pedro and his brother Eduardo are paid well to complete two more unfinished grills in the Jordans’ neighborhood. At the same time, Carla teaches Linda and her friends how to make tamales, which they sell to neighbors. The Garcias are having an enjoyable and profitable visit to southern Arizona until a biased, neanderthal neighbor reports them to his employer, La Migra, US Immigration.

Will the Garcias be arrested, fined, and deported? Will the Jordans and Garcias remain friends, or will the negative experience with US Immigration tarnish their friendship and give the Garcias an adverse impression of the USA? How will the dynamics change in the Jordans’ barrio between neighbors?

About the author:

The author earned Engineering degrees from North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was employed by a large US manufacturer of diesel engines, holding various positions. He worked and lived in Spain for eight years, traveling throughout western Europe. He also worked in numerous Latin American Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic.

The author resides in southern Arizona, USA, and enjoys traveling, learning, hiking, practicing Spanish, wine tasting, and attending concerts.

New Book Release: The Last Pass in El Paso - by J. Michael King

 

Find it on Amazon HERE

When the mother of 22-year-old Mike Holmes passes away after a long bout of breast cancer, Holmes’ cousin Jimmy convinces him to leave his lifelong home in Cheyenne, Wyoming, move to El Paso, Texas, and enroll in college to earn his bachelor’s degree.

Holmes drives to El Paso, on the USA–Mexico border. He shares a house with Manny, Jimmy’s Mexican friend, thus being thrown directly into Mexican border culture.Holmes enrolls in the Fall semester of the Business program at the Hispanic-majority University of Texas–El Paso (UTEP), where he also takes Spanish classes.

On a Friday night in the fall, Manny and Holmes go to a nearby store to purchase beer and snacks. They encounter a Mexican family from Ciudad Juárez needing help with their pickup truck. Holmes repairs their vehicle and immediately becomes enchanted with Carmen, the pickup owner’s attractive niece, who speaks little English.

During the Spring semester, Holmes gets the unlikely and unexpected coveted opportunity to try out for the UTEP Miners football team with no previous playing experience. Will he make the 100-man roster and be teammates with star quarterback Samuel “Sammy” Sánchez from Juárez, the only true Mexican player in US college football? Will Holmes develop a relationship with Carmen, bridging the international border? Will he earn good grades and graduate? Then what?

About the author: 

The author earned Engineering degrees from North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He was employed by a large US manufacturer of diesel engines, holding various positions. He worked and lived in Spain for eight years, traveling throughout western Europe. He also worked in numerous Latin American Spanish-speaking countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Chile, Peru, Argentina, and the Dominican Republic.

The author resides in southern Arizona, USA, and enjoys traveling, learning, hiking, practicing Spanish, wine tasting, and attending concerts.