April Davila - Author

Mindfulness

Out Of the Clouds

May 12, 2021

For this week’s post, I thought I might share a small excerpt from my podcast interview with Out Of The Clouds about how I got into mindfulness meditation.

You Inner Critic’s BFF: Doubt

April 28, 2021

Doubt is very real. How we respond to it determines how far we go as writers. Pro tip: drowning your doubt in alcohol is for amateurs.

Writing As Meditation

March 10, 2021

Lately I’ve been blogging some about how mindfulness has helped me become a better writer, but saying I practice meditation […]

Right View for Better Editing

February 10, 2021

Right View is about about seeing things as they are, not as we wish or imagine them to be. When we apply it to our editing process, we produce better prose.

My Writing Community: An Invitation

August 6, 2020

The Mindful Writers Group is a community of writers meeting every Friday at 9:30am PST to meditate, write, and hang out for a bit.

Cultivating Emotional Resonance

June 24, 2020

Emotional resonance is that magical, empathetic connection some authors are able to create between their characters and their readers.

April Davila has made the rare thing: The perfect meeting of plot and character. A hurtling adventure of family intrigue helmed by a heroine for the ages, Davila’s novel will make your heart swell as big as an ostrich egg, and then hatch it.

— Katie Williams, Author of “Tell The Machine Goodnight”

An engrossing and original tale of love, betrayal, and extremely large birds, April Dávila’s 142 Ostriches is a novel that blooms like springtime in the California desert. Fiercely independent, brave, and tender, Tallulah Jones is a heroine for our time.

— Seth Greenland, Author of “The Hazards of Good Fortune”, Author of “The Hazards of Good Fortune”

Vividly imagined and deeply felt, “142 Ostriches” is an utterly absorbing tale of an intrepid young woman coming of age in the California desert. I loved Davila’s big-hearted debut about land, family, and the ties that bind. Highly recommended.

— Lindsey Lee Johnson, Author of “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth”

A story told with depth and beauty about the many things we inherit from our families. Davila’s characters are familiar, yet unforgettable.

— Wayétu Moore, Author of “She Would Be King”

Davila’s utterly unique novel nails the Zeitgeist… With unsentimental acuity, her narrator confronts the intangible covenant foisted upon her.

— Rita Williams – Author of “If The Creek Don’t Rise”

142 Ostriches is unlike anything I’ve read before. In Davila’s skillful hands, the desert comes alive and the ostriches are as compelling as the human characters. Tallulah herself is a memorable, strong-willed protagonist.

— Amy Meyerson, Author of “The Bookshop of Yesterdays”

A twisty, warmhearted story of family, community and fate, a thoroughgoing delight.

— Janet Fitch, Author of “Chimes of a Lost Cathedral”

I’ve never read a coming of age story quite like Dávila’s. It’s about a rugged existence, but with prose so gorgeously written that you can’t help but see the beauty in the world she’s built.

— Erin La Rosa, Author of “The Big Redhead Book”

Anyone who has ever felt the insistent tug of Somewhere Else… will find something of themselves in these fine pages.

— Mark Sarvas, Author of “Memento Park”

Davila’s observant prose conjures the drama of sun-scorched days and the calm of cool painted evenings as it chronicles the struggles and rewards of a rugged life in the vast Mohave.

— Yvonne Puig, Author of “A Wife of Nobel Character”