The Editorialist by David Monreal

About the book

New Yorker, Julia Schwartz, after a devastating divorce decides to make a new life for herself in the small and provincial town of Joaquin, California. She buys the Joaquin Times-Delta, the local newspaper, and begins her campaign of disseminating progressive ideas among the Joaquin denizens. But she doesn't count on meeting Andrew Vasquez, the conservative editorialist on staff. Suddenly, because of Andrew, Julia Schwartz's life takes a wild and unexpected turn. The Editorialist, offers up two characters who are opposites in just about every category -- politics, religion, temperament -- yet, through hell and high water, they find mutual understanding and even love.

After a stormy and bitter courtship, Andrew and Julia settle down to the married life. When Julia turns up pregnant at the age of forty-two, a new battle of the wills ensues. Should they keep the baby who, because of Julia's age, is to be born mentally retarded, or should they abort it?

Andrew wins the moral struggle and baby Arturo dramatically changes Julia's life. She becomes, of all things, a loving mother.

About the author

David Monreal has been publishing poetry and fiction since 1975. He is a three-time winner of the University of California at Irvine Chicano Literary Contest. His short stories have appeared in numerous journals, including Saguaro, Bilingual Review, The Americas Review, Q-Vo, and Firme, among others. His two books of short stories, The New Neighbor and Other Stories and A Season's Harvest were published by Pacific Writers Press in 1997 and 1998 respectively. His novel, The Cinco de Mayo: An Epic Novel was published in 1995 by Floricanto Press. He was also featured in the anthology, Growing up Chicana/O put out by William Morrow and Co., and recently his poem, Moco Limping, was selected to be part of the text in the California Star Program Assessment Test (CA STAR) which will be administered to students in the state of California. At present, Mr. Monreal has completed the non-fiction book, The Confessions of a Vendido, and he has also finished a novel titled, American Friends.