Synopsis

Izzy’s trying to cope with life, love, and loneliness, but her fast life in Houston is rapidly spinning out of control.

So when the twenty-three-year-old American takes a job at an international resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, she hopes her old life is behind her at last—and with it, all the self-doubts and insecurities that have plagued her since childhood. She’s wondering if she’ll be able to survive in a new job in a strange country, but for now, the city’s breathtaking ocean views by day and sexy club scenes by night look like paradise.

Happy and energized by the unfamiliar sights and sounds of her surroundings, Izzy sets out to prove herself in the Spanish-speaking office. Soon she’s making strides at work, partying with new acquaintances, and all the while gaining confidence as she successfully navigates the local culture (and the men in it).

But soon the lines start to blur in paradise. Izzy misses her family and her boyfriend back home; she senses her new friends may be ignoring her; and when she travels for work, she feels insecure and out of place. Her self-esteem takes a hit. Confusion and disorientation set in. Returning to old habits—drinking, partying hard, and looking for love with strangers—Izzy is feeling more alone than ever. When an office gaffe threatens to ruin her much-anticipated trip home for Christmas, Izzy is forced to take stock: Was the whole move to Mexico a mistake? Can she find a way to get her career—and her life—back on track?

In this poignant, funny, and edgy coming-of-age story, debut author Danielle Ledezma shows us that there’s strength in being vulnerable, it’s all right not to be perfect, and most of all, we have to learn to love ourselves before we can truly love anyone else.

The following is the first sentence of the book and Danielle’s thoughts about that sentence.

“The plane descended over the ocean, a deep, gorgeous blue fading into a turquoise hue as it neared the shoreline.”

There is something emotional about the ocean.  Whether standing at the point where it breaks upon a shore or seeing it’s expansive ever-changing characteristics from the window of a plane, or floating on it in a boat or inner tube.  The ocean is mystical and deep and is a place I like going to reflect and listen.  Some may call it meditation, but I call it finding myself in her strength.  Energy is never created nor destroyed and all we are is energy.  Sometimes high energy buzzing with excitement or anger or irritation, and sometimes peaceful calm waves of satisfying energy and love.

Opening this novel by asking the reader to go to this place in their own mind was intended to set the stage based on where they are as they open the book.  Is their ocean choppy and churning with angst as it crashes on the shore, or are they contemplative and calm on the surface in the deepest blue?  My hope is they will find themselves in the pages of Izzy with similar feelings, similar experiences, and perhaps similar poor choices or situations that lead them to face their own deep ocean within themselves.

No matter where they are starting their journey with Izzy, this opening is intended to start the reader down that path of self-reflection.  Since most of Izzy’s turning points take place on the water or near the water I wanted that thread to be introduced very early on and weave its way through the story, pulling the reader along with it.  Water is life-giving and a source of sustainability for our cultures, our food and our history and is naturally a phenomenon we are attracted to.  Yet, we are still exploring and searching and wondering and discovering more about it each year.  I hope that is what each of my readers does within themselves.  If they don’t yet, perhaps reading Izzy will be their first opportunity to do so.  It must be done intentionally with the desire to grow, even when it’s uncertain and scary and deep.

About the Author

Danielle Ledezma grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and later moved to Austin where she attended and graduated from The University of Texas with a BS in Public Relations and a concentration in Spanish.  After graduation, she moved to Houston for a job in the hospitality industry. When an opportunity arose for an exciting new career move to tropical Mexico, she jumped on it. As a young woman in a new world, Danielle realized that moving away from her personal problems did not solve them.  As this reality sank in, Danielle’s eyes were opened to the fact that she was surrounded by paradise, and alone. With time and introspection, she was inspired to journal about her experiences and began to learn and grow, and subsequently, her journal entries helped inspire the story in her debut novel, Izzy in El Mareo. After her time working in Mexico, an opportunity arose for her to eventually move back home to San Antonio where she met her husband, who encouraged her to write Izzy’s story and has supported her through the years it has taken to bring the ideas, struggles, and typically taboo topics to bookshelves everywhere. Danielle embraces any opportunity to discuss her own shortcomings, her choices, and expose herself in order to help others strengthen their self-image and self-confidence.  She currently lives in San Antonio with her husband and works in sales at a beautiful Hill Country resort.

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