#1 Amazon Bestseller in Humorous Action Adventure:
C&W singer/songwriter Skeets Hollaran and best friend, piano player, Jesse Suarez, are both underachieving Austin, Texas, musicians. Skeets finds himself homeless when his soul mate, Gena Koster, kicks him out for philandering. Jesse’s landlord evicts him and threatens criminal action for his hot rent checks. They flee, on their Harley motorcycles, into the Mexican desert. They hope for a life-changing, pivotal spiritual journey of redemption: sin seared from their souls by the desert sun, atonement, and absolution of Skeets by Gena.
Instead, a riotous romp follows from the Mexican border to the small town of Tolencita where the despot El Jefe jails them and threatens their lives.
As you ride along with Skeets and Jesse on this Don Quixote-esque adventure, you find (in spite of the playful tone and often thigh-slapping humor) mankind’s foibles arrayed, illegal immigration illuminated, greed uprooted and foiled, and political oppression confronted and vanquished – all without a single gunshot. Wonderful Josefina, the Mexican burro, also shows us if we are steadfast in our faith and stay the course, we can achieve our dreams, even though we might get diddled along the way.
EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
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Bill Stephen’s Vámonos! takes a wry and realistic look at human nature and the result is fun, lively, innovative, and highly entertaining. Instead of editorial comment on the character’s foibles, the various critters do the job, and the result is often hilarious and deeply revealing. Though the protagonists get themselves into heaps of trouble, the general tone is upbeat throughout, often left me laughing out loud. I recommend ¡Vámonos! in the highest terms.” Florence Weinberg, Ph.d Author of The Storks of Caridad and Unrest in Eden
“From a literary standpoint, Vámonos! is a book about good. evil, redemption, and the human condition, and it handles those elements with grace, intelligence, and wit. Remarkably, it also does something that literary novels rarely do: while accurately capturing the zeitgeist of today’s Mexico, it delivers the kind of edge-of-the-seat entertainment usually found only in plot driven thrillers. Have you ever wondered what it might be like to ride a Harley, or maybe to ride one in Mexico? Vámonos! brings you those experiences, virtually in 3D, with as much excitement as anybody needs, and does so with close to zero predictability. And there is enough humor to keep you smiling through even the most suspenseful scenes. The ending is especially satisfying: not only do the main characters achieve redemption but so do readers, most of whom will not be able to finish the book without a surge of optimism and a renewed enthusiasm for their own slog through this veil of tears.” Jim Peyton author of The Vampires of Bustamonte
“I think the comparison to Christopher Moore and Carl Hiaasen is a good one. I’ve read several of their books. In fact, I enjoy listening to these types of books and think Vámonos! is perfect for the audiobook format. It’s funny with a charming, self-deprecating hero. It reminds me of a modern day Don Quixote. And the dialogue and situational comedy make it a great candidate for film.” Diana Lopez author of Confetti Girl and Sophia’s Saints.
Bill Stephens wrote over 1,000 weekly wine columns for Harte-Hanks, Murdoch, and Hearst newspapers. For over 18 years he was the cliché newspaper columnist who had "The Novel" third drawer down in his desk. He finally pulled it out one day, and his debut novel, Vámonos!, is the result. His features on wine, food, travel, and outdoor appeared in Wine News, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Chef, and Field & Stream. You can follow Bill on his Blog, "Read It and Weep." www.publishersmarketplace.com/members/billstephens Stephens is a graduate of The University of Texas and studied creative writing at Trinity University, San Antonio. As an avid outdoorsman he has hunted and fished from Alaska to Mexico and has ridden his Harley Davidson Motorcycle coast-to-coast, border-to-border, and more than 12,000 miles in Mexico. He lives in Texas with his wife and her critters. Visit his website www.billstephensbooks.com He soon will release his third novel, Woke Up This Morning, and a collection of short stories.
