In the Cards

About the Book

In the game of Lotería, we are each destined the cards that decide our fate as players. A sensitive young man in mourning is visited by his dead mother’s spirit. A girl is captivated by her brother’s melancholy music with no clue of the grim sadness his future holds. A trio of youngsters learn the meaning of retaliation against the ultimate summertime rejection. Beginning with a few pages of ghost stories told to her by her grandmother, Christina Saballos started a blog that featured short memoirs based on family lore and personal experiences. For an amusing challenge, each story was inspired by one of the iconic images of the popular Mexican card game Lotería. With fifty-four cards in the deck, she flipped through the images until an idea sparked and a memory was awakened. These memories, best shared around the dinner table, on long road trips, by letter, or those delicious one-on-one conversations over coffee or beers, are intimate examples of pain, struggle, and love that build our identities and make up our destinies.

About the Author

Christina Saballos received a B.A. in Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies from UC Berkeley, where she instructed, performed, wrote and directed for the Chicano/Latino Theatre Workshop. Two of her screenplays have placed as finalists in competition and, while pursuing a career in banking, she continues to write for her blog and work on a children’s book. Born and raised in East L.A., she currently lives in Pinole, California with her husband and two curly-hair sons. “Christina Saballos has a brilliant quirky mind and the ability to tell a story in one page. Her book, In the Cards: A Collection of Memories Inspired by Lotería, contains humor, mystery, and short stories that will warm your heart and sometimes allow tears to rise unbidden to your eyes. If you start this book, you will definitely finish it.” -Mary H. Webb Author of The God-Hustlers