Chicago

Today is the day! The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calderón: A Globetrotting Magical Mystery of Courage, Food & Friendship is published!

Thank you for the love and support. It’s been ten years in the making. I’ve been sitting in awe all day, crying and laughing with joy.

Will you please do me a favor? Will you #TellTwo people who you think will enjoy the book? I’m hoping to share Selma’s adventures all around the globe. You can use Selma’s hashtag #cucalacas – it’s her magical word! The novel is for ages 10-105. And 5% of all net profits are donated to organizations benefiting youth.

You can buy it on amazon in paperback and kindle.

And for my U.S. readers, you can support your local independent bookstore by purchasing through IndieBound.

It’s even in Ingram’s international catalogue so that my readers in Canada, Australia, the UK—throughout Europe, can ask their local bookstores to order it. Soon it will be up on iTunes, Barnes & Noble and Nook.

Here’s what two of my 5 star reviewers on Amazon already posted:

“I have fallen in love with Selma, her friends, family and adventures. Each page of this wonderful story takes you on a magical journey filled with love. This is a story you will want to share with the entire family. I can’t wait to find out where Selma takes us next.” – Margaret S. Edwards

“Even though this book is written towards young teens, it pulled me in from the first page. I was transported near and far, and imagined myself taking all of these adventures with Selma and her family & friends. It made me laugh a lot, it made me cry a little and it definitely left me wanting for a sequel.” – J. Sullivan

For more rave reviews by young readers and the Executive Director of Teaching for Change, click here.

What’s the novel about?

What if you could travel the world, go back in time, and eat your favorite foods along the way, all the while unraveling the mystery of your missing parents?

Recently moved to Chicago, fifth-grader Selma Calderón wants to use her magic to explore the world. She’s planning trips to Paris to taste a café au lait and a chocolate-filled croissant, to Uganda to see the mountain gorillas with her best friend, Hurley, and to Spain to visit the Alhambra palace. But she’s not supposed to use magic without permission from Guadey, her guardian, not even to do her homework, or to deal with the school bully, or to uncover the mystery of her parents who went missing when she was two.

Will Selma finally discover the truth about her parents and get to learn more magic, or will her impatience land her in some deep time-travel trouble?

You’ll visit the Alhambra in Spain in the novel.

To see why I wrote the book, please visit my new website (hooray!) at http://rebeccavillarreal.com or just click here.

Cafe Au Lait with Selma in Paris

These photos are from my own travels to the same places Selma visits. Thank you so much for supporting me and Selma. And please, if you have a dream, take measured steps to make it happen. It feels so good and you’re worth it!

Will Selma get to visit the endangered Mountain Gorillas in Uganda?

In the middle of this week, my mind was so cluttered with lists, receipts, obligations, excitement, creativity and confusion, I felt as if I couldn’t see straight. I had a [self-imposed] deadline for an article at work, expense reports, family commitments and plain old life stuff. That morning, I sat in quiet and asked for help. I realized that I craved music and planned to listen to flamenco at work. Those sounds always stir my soul and creativity. I began an archeological dig, starting with my purse. I found expense report receipts along with a wider glimpse of mental clarity. I packed a backpack with my wallet, lunch and tossed in a stray dollar at the last minute. I took the “L” to Monroe station. Upon arrival, Christopher Pinot greeted me with his acoustic guitar. Smiling, I told myself to listen intently on the way out. Then I remembered that dollar and decided it was meant for him. So I walked away from the stairs and back to the music. And then I found rapture. Miracle. Belief that what I asked for came to me, live.

Listen and watch, for two minutes and twenty-nine seconds how Christopher brings light. His mastery, not only of the music, but of his environment is astounding. Like an athlete, his has a deft agility in reacting to his surroundings. His sweet, sweet music stirs your soul ’til you’re lifted into the whirl of his dervish.

I thanked him for sharing his immense talent and for choosing to show up in the world the way he does.

I thank YOU for sharing this moment with me.

Ask every day, my friend. Unclutter your thoughts. Make your lists. Open your eyes to the signs. The loose dollar. The quiet contentment. The 2:29 spurts. This is your life. You can find art and peace everywhere. You can make them with every breath.