The Road to Delano
by John DeSimone
Publication Date: March 10, 2020
Rare Bird Books
Hardcover; 320 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Jack Duncan is a high school senior whose dream is to play baseball in college and beyond―as far away from Delano as possible. He longs to escape the political turmoil surrounding the labor struggles of the striking fieldworkers that infests his small ag town. Ever since his father, a grape grower, died under suspicious circumstances ten years earlier, he’s had to be the sole emotional support of his mother, who has kept secrets from him about his father’s involvement in the ongoing labor strife.
With their property on the verge of a tax sale, Jack drives an old combine into town to sell it so he and his mother don’t become homeless. On the road, an old friend of his father’s shows up and hands him the police report indicating Jack’s father was murdered. Jack is compelled to dig deep to discover the entire truth, which throws him into the heart of the corruption endemic in the Central Valley. Everything he has dreamed of is at stake if he can’t control his impulse for revenge.
While Jack’s girlfriend, the intelligent and articulate Ella, warns him not to so anything to jeopardize their plans of moving to L.A., after graduation, Jack turns to his best friend, Adrian, a star player on the team, to help to save his mother’s land. When Jack’s efforts to rescue a stolen piece of farm equipment leaves Adrian―the son of a boycotting fieldworker who works closely with Cesar Chavez―in a catastrophic situation, Jack must bail his friend out of his dilemma before it ruins his future prospects. Jack uses his wits, his acumen at card playing, and his boldness to raise the money to spring his friend, who has been transformed by his jail experience.
The Road to Delano is the path Jack, Ella, and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, their destiny.
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About the Author
John DeSimone is a published writer, novelist, and teacher. He’s been an adjunct professor and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University. His recent co-authored books include Broken Circle: A Memoir of Escaping Afghanistan (Little A Publishers), and Courage to Say No by Dr. Raana Mahmood, about her struggles against sexual exploitation as a female physician in Karachi. His published novel Leonardo’s Chair published in 2005.
In 2012, he won a prestigious Norman Mailer Fellowship to complete his most recent historical novel, Road to Delano. His novels Leonardo’s Chair and No Ordinary Man have received critical recognition.
He works with select clients to write stories of inspiration and determination and with those who have a vital message to bring to the marketplace of ideas in well-written books.
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Interview with author John DeSimone
1. In three words describe your book The Road to Delano?
Friendship. Loyalty. Duty.
2. What was the inspiration to write a book about the small town of Delano, the fieldworkers and people that live in a small town in Central Valley?
The Road to Delano came to me as an idea after reading about Cesar Chavez’s fast for nonviolence during the grape strike in 1968. As I studied the idea, and let it mature, I decided his moral stand, which I consider heroic, more than likely influenced the moral choices of the young people around him. That’s how I came up with the protagonists in the story who are affected by the strike in different ways. Jack and Adrian are confronted with a series of choices essential to their future. I’m not talking about if they are going to use drugs or have sex with their girlfriends. Those are not trivial issues, for sure. But the choices they are faced with will shape their destiny and their characters in different ways far beyond their high school days. The Road to Delano is the path Jack and Adrian must take to find their strength, their duty, and their destiny.
3. Jack, Ella and Adrien were amazing characters to read about each with their own coming of age development story. Any of those relate to you personally?
No, not at all, at least personally. These characters came to mind from the research that I performed in and around Delano, California. I spoke to former students who lived and went to school during that tumultuous period. I decided to frame the story in a coming-of-age story for both Jack and Adrian. I combined actual people I read about with a fable, Jack and Bean Stalk, where young Jack goes off to town to save his mother’s farm with her last item of value. You can see the parallels. It’s a classic story of growing up and maturing into a responsible adult. Adrian is based on a true story of a Hispanic athlete who lived during that time.
4. What does your writing process look like? Any quirks or special process you want to share?
No quirks that I can think of. It’s a daily grind. I begin early. I read a lot for context and ideas. I suffer through periods of feeling lost in the material. I allow it time and effort to take shape.
5. What are you currently reading now?
I read widely in different genres. I just finished a sci-fi novel The Price of Time. Standard suspense stuff with a twist of immortality. Now I’m reading James Ellory’s historical novel set in the 1960s. American Blood. Boy, reading James Ellroy is a shock to the system. His staccato prose sets me on edge, but I’m getting through it.
6. What would you like to share with your readers an 'easter egg' about The Road to Delano from either your research process or something about the story plot?
You mean something special. As I mentioned above I combined myth and history to write this story. Jack’s character is based on a fable. I learned this from many other writers, but one my favorites, John Steinbeck, did the same thing. As a young writer, he met and spent time with Joseph Campbell. But many others have used mythic structures to hold up their plots, and now the hero’s journey is taught in every writing group I’ve ever been associated with. I believe the strongest stories have universal themes—that’s why romantic literature of all sorts is so popular. We all want to transcend our mundane lives in some way, and the hero’s journey gives us a structure to add meaning to the minutia of our existence. That’s my theory anyway.
7. What are your other interests besides writing?
Well, not to be too obvious, I read a lot. I enjoy traveling and visiting used bookstores. I could become a wine expert if I had more time. I enjoy tasting it and learning about the history and varieties.
8. Can you share with your readers any upcoming books or projects?
Thank you for your time to read and enjoy the Road to Delano and your enthusiastic sharing with your following. Your readers can find out more about me a www.johndesimone.com
Blog Tour Schedule
Tuesday, March 3
Review at Passages to the Past
Feature at Books In Their Natural Habitat
Wednesday, March 4
Feature at I'm All About Books
Review at Tales from the Book Dragon
Sunday, March 8
Review at Carole Rae's Random Ramblings
Monday, March 9
Feature at Donna's Book Blog
Wednesday, March 11
Thursday, March 12
Friday, March 13
Review at YA, It's Lit
Saturday, March 14
Review at Reading is My Remedy
Monday, March 16
Review at Chronicles of The Boozy Reader
Tuesday, March 17
Feature at Broken Teepee
Guest Post at Historical Graffiti
Wednesday, March 18
Interview at Jathan & Heather
Friday, March 20
Review at Jessica Belmont
Review at Oh, The Books She Will Read
Monday, March 23
Guest Post at Gwendalyn's Books
Tuesday, March 24
Review & Excerpt at Robin Loves Reading
Wednesday, March 25
Feature at What Is That Book About
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour, we are giving away a copy of The Road to Delano! To enter, please use the Gleam form below.
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– Giveaway ends at 11:59 pm EST on March 25th. You must be 18 or older to enter.
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The Road to Delano
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