Blog Tour: Gracianna by Trini Amador

Author: Trini Amador 
Publication Date: July 23, 2013
Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press
Hardcover; 296p
ISBN-10: 1608325709

The gripping story of Gracianna–a French-Basque girl forced to make impossible decisions after being recruited into the French Resistance in Nazi-occupied Paris.

Gracianna is inspired by true events in the life of Trini Amador’s great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. As an adult, Amador was haunted by the vivid memory of finding a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand while wandering his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun.

Decades later, Amador would delve into the remarkable odyssey of his Gracianna’s past, a road that led him to an incredible surprise. In Gracianna, Amador weaves fact and fiction to tell his great-grandmother’s story. As Amador tells the imagined story of how his great-grandmother risked it all, he delivers richly drawn characters and a heart-wrenching page-turner that readers won’t soon forget.

Gracianna is a story that was inspired by the true story of the author's great grandparents.   I say that because while the majority of the book is about Gracianna, her husband Juan takes a pretty big part in her story as well.  The book mainly takes place before and during the Nazi occupation of France.  The author does tell us that the story is pieced together through tales passed down through the family.  So, I'm sure a bit of it is imagined.  

I almost didn't finish this book.  It was pretty slow for me in the beginning.  But, I am glad I kept going with the book.  Gracianna was an amazing woman. We all know what a nightmare World War II was for everyone involved.  By accident she became part of the French Resistance.  What I found both amazing and horrifying was how she essentially became an assassin for them.  She was a naive girl from the mountains when she left with the dream of going to America.  What happened to her in Paris changed her life forever.  The book also delves into Gracianna's sister Constance's time at the concentration camp in Birkenau.  

I won't say that I enjoyed the book because what she went through was horrifying and heartbreaking. That isn't something that one "enjoys".  I will instead say that it was well written and intriguing.  My only wish is that I would have liked to read more about her and Juan's life in America after the war.   I think that this is a wonderful tribute to the author's great grandmother.

About the author:

Trini Amador vividly remembers the day he found a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand

while wandering through his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun. This experience sparked a journey towards Gracianna, Amador’s debut novel, inspired by true events and weaving reality with imagination. It’s a tale drawing from real-life family experiences.

Mr. Amador is a traveled global marketing “insighter.” He is a sought-after guru teaching multinational brand marketers to understand how customer and consumer segments behave based on their needs, values, motivations, feeling and values. He has trained over five thousand brand marketers on how to grow brands in over 20 countries in the last 15 years. His counseling has been valued at global brands including General Electric, Microsoft, AT&T, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, Google, Jack Daniel’s, The J.M. Smucker Co., DuPont, Mattel, and Rodale, Inc..

Amador is also a founding partner with his wife and children of Gracianna Winery, an award-winning winery located in Healdsburg, California. The winery also pays tribute to the Amador Family’s maternal grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. Her message of being thankful lives on through them. The Gracianna winery strives to keep Gracianna’s gratitude alive through their wine. Learn more at: www.gracianna.com, like Gracianna Winery on Facebook or follow them on Twitter @GraciannaWinery.

Amador resides in Sonoma County with his family.

Link to Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.com/graciannatwotour
Twitter Hashtag: #GraciannaTour