Today is the third stop of Désirée Zamorano’s virtual book tour celebrating her new novel. Mercy Amado has raised three girls, protecting them from their cheating father by leaving him. But Mercy’s love can only reach so far when her children are adults, as Sylvia, Celeste, and Nataly must make their own choices to fight or succumb, leave or return, to love or pay penance. When tragedy strikes in Sylvia’s life, Mercy, Celeste, and Nataly gather support her, but their familial love may not be enough for them to remain close as the secrets in their histories surface. Forgiveness may not be accepted. Fiercely independent, intelligent, they are The Amado Women.

Melanie Page: Did you at any time feel like the characters’ jobs defined who they are?

Désirée Zamorano: I certainly feel that their jobs are an expression of who they are, the pressures they face, and the dreams they hold. I particularly enjoy the contrast between Mercy’s teaching experience and that of Sylvia’s. So many people think, either because they’ve gone to school all their lives or that there are so many teachers, that teaching is an easy job. It is actually probably one of the hardest unsung ones, equivalent to parenting. Continue reading →