Praise for
Underneath It All
by Margo Candela!
“Page turner? Check. Laugh-out-loud funny? Check. New voice with a new take on life for modern women? Check. Can I tell you how glad I am that Margo Candela came along and gave me a great big reason to prune my toes in the bathtub all night? I couldn’t put this fun, very alive book down.”
—Alisa Valdes-Rodriquez,
New York Times
bestselling author of
The Dirty Girls Social Club
“Fresh, vibrant, and fast-paced,
Underneath It All
takes you from laughing out loud to screaming, “You go, girl!” Jacqueline Sanchez is as real as they come, a woman trying to make the most out of life in spite of her meddling family, boring ex-husband, hottie Mayor boss (and his ex-soap star wife), troubled friends ... oh, and her therapist. Don’t miss the chance to experience
Margo Candela’s captivating debut!”
—Kelley St. John, author of
Real Women Don’t Wear Size 2
National Reader’s Choice Award winner 2006
“Margo Candela balances wit as sharp as a tack with engaging humor and a voice as fresh as spring rain ... An engaging, sexy read about friends, family and career choices—all of which seem to be taking modern career woman Jacqueline Sanchez down a circuitous and sometimes near impossible path in life. Definitely a book to save for an afternoon of guilty pleasures.”
—Caridad Piñeiro, author of
More Than a Mission
and
Sex and the South Beach Chicas
“Witty, fast-paced and full of memorable characters, this is one book you won’t be able to toss aside until you’ve read every delicious word. Jacqs will be your new best friend!”
—Berta Platas, author of
Cinderella Lopez
Please turn the page for more praise!
“Margo Candela and her new novel,
Underneath It All
, are refreshing. Anyone whose life has veered off track will relate to her heroine, Jacqueline Sanchez, who bears the weight of an impossible boss, needy friends, and questionable romances with comedic wit and self-deprecating humor. You’ll fall in love with Jacqs and
Underneath It All
.”
—Patrick Sanchez, author of
Tight
and
The Way It Is
“A sweet and funny debut about a woman defying family expectations and coming into her own.
Underneath It All
is tops!”
—Stephanie Lehman, author of
The Art of Undressing
and
Thoughts While Having Sex
“Get ready for a witty, cleverly humorous treat! The main character Jacqs, is so charmingly human, she’ll make you smile throughout the entire book. I could not put
Underneath It All
down.
Loved It! Loved It! Loved It!”
—Lara Rios, author of
Becoming Latina in 10 Easy Steps
and
Becoming Americana
“By turns, uproariously dysfunctional, touching, and melancholy. Margo Candela nails it all in her fabulous debut ... Jacqs’ trials and tribulations are so familiar and relatable, you’ll find yourself both laughing and cringing, often at the same time. Straight-up, straight ahead, and straight on ’til morning, because trust me, you will stay up all night to find out what lies
Underneath It All
.”
—Caridad Ferrer, author of
Adious to My Old Life
“Take one recently divorced woman with a dead-end job, add an over-the-top boss, a collection of friends-with-issues, a platonic “boyfriend” getting in touch with his inner Donald Trump, and a hilariously dysfunctional family, and you end up with one fresh, funny, fabulous read. Jacqs Sanchez is a vibrant and complex character who practically leaps off the page.”
—Tracy Montoya, author of
Shadow Guardian
and
Finding His Family
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I’d like to thank cell phones and insomnia. Without the two working together, this book may have never happened, or at least not as happily. Thanks to my cell phone’s memory I was able to retrieve the number for my agent, Jenoyne Adams, and call her in the hopes she was still interested in my writing. Luckily for me she was. Within the same 24-hour period my wonderful editor at Kensington, Sulay Hernandez, was suffering a bout of insomnia that had her searching the Web for modern Latina-centered fiction. The Internet gods led her to my web page and I woke up to a request to submit. She read the manuscript in one sitting and with the guidance of her able boss, Kate Duffy, it ultimately became
Underneath It All.
I’d also like to thank my friend Laura for her keen eyes and patience. I owe thanks to my mother-in-law, Melanie, for practicing her hypnosis on me, which uncovered the nut of the idea somewhere deep inside me. A big thanks to my husband, Jeremy, not for always being patient but for at least being there and also not being there when I needed my space. And to my family: Mom, Dad, Martha, Laura, Monica, Alfredo, Justin and Andrew, for all the angst, anxiety and good times that have made me who I am today. And, of course, to Elias. If it hadn’t been for his arrival, I would never have lost my job and I might still be toiling at some failing Web site. Thanks, kid!