Emunah La-Paz
Emunah La-Paz (meaning Faith of Peace; born Vicki L. Williams) is an American author. Her first book Chocolate Burnout [1] embraces multi-cultural heritage, and is recognized in the Mavin foundation database of books by authors who touch on interracial relationships. In 2011, La-Paz published the book, Why Do Married Men Cheat with Unattractive Women?, a story based on real life events about a beautiful supermodel that becomes baffled when her husband leaves her for a so-called "unattractive woman". The book, based on the original blog, follows a woman as she tries to move on after her bitter and very public break-up.
Emunah La-Paz | |
---|---|
Born | Vicki L. Williams November 6, 1971 Montgomery, Alabama |
Pen name | Emunah La-Paz |
Occupation | Author |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1993–present |
Spouse | D.R. Hubbard |
Early life and education
Emunah La-Paz was born in Montgomery, Alabama. Her father was a security police officer in the Air Force, and her mother worked as beautician. The family was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany, during her early years, which were fond memories for La-Paz.
Eventually, the family re-located to Arizona. La-Paz grew up facing issues relating to cultural differences. As she observed the world around her, she was able to tap into her creative side. Her imagination "allowed her to create a world of acceptance and validation within herself".[2]
La-Paz graduated from Tolleson High School in 1991, and then went on to a local college in Arizona.
Career
La-Paz initially began working as a commercial model for a top agency in Phoenix in 1994.[3]
La-Paz married D.R. Hubbard, an engineer, in 1994. Hubbard invested in her talent as a writer.
Chocolate Burnout
La-Paz released her first novel, Chocolate Burnout, in 1998. The short book touched on multi cultural relationships. The main character, Chantel, has never dated outside her race or comfort zone, and seeks therapy from a bizarre physiologist. The doctor sways Chantel into believing that she may have an issue known as Chocolate Burnout. She encourages Chantel to date outside of what she knows, and experience new flavors in life. Due to unresolved issues from her past (including an old relationship), Chantel finds herself trapped within the walls of self-hate and chocolate addiction. The original book was a short novelette that focused on Chantel. The new release (published in 2017) focuses on a wide range of characters and their twisted views.[4]
Chocolate Burnout was embraced by Mavis, an outreach program that promotes awareness among multi-cultural communities. The novel reached the AALBC Top Ten Sellers List, and was featured in SBH Magazine.[5]
Why Do Married Men Cheat With Unattractive Women?
La-Paz published the memoir in 2011, which chronicles the blog portion and healing journal surrounding a supermodel named Judie.[6] Judie was ready to settle down (trading in her world of high fashion for the simple life), and she thought that she had found the right guy with her photographer husband J.T. However, she finds out about her husband’s affair with a fast food worker (whom her friends consider unattractive), and takes her concerns to an online chat room. The online community eventually turns on Judie.[7]
The book was well received by critics. Irene Roth of Blogcritics praised La-Paz's "10 years of research surrounding the topic." [8]
Why Do Married Men Cheat With Unattractive Women? brought forth women who have dealt with similar situations, and women who felt less-attractive in a world that worships vanity. The real life stories helped build the core of the spin off book, Memoir of a Jaded Woman: Tainted Love.
Memoir of a Jaded Woman: Tainted Love
In November 2016, La-Paz published Memoir of a Jaded Woman: Tainted Love.[9][10] In this book, La-Paz, inspired by a friend's troubled marriage, held focus groups of women and explored marriage and infidelity alongside Bible study. A reviewer called the novel "a compendium of raging, amusing, and ultimately balanced perspectives, including those of many men and their girlfriends." [11][12]
Say What: The Black Butterfly Series
La-Paz's most recent project is Say What: The Black Butterfly Series, a series of four novels which delve into black dysfunctional and abusive relationships.[13]
Published books
- Chocolate Burnout
- Why Do Married Men Cheat With Unattractive Women?
- Memoir of A Jaded Woman: Tainted Love
- Say What: The Black Butterfly Series
All of Emunah La-Paz's books deal with interviews and feedback from actual characters.
La-Paz's unique and bright book covers stem from artist Sonia Abril Medina. La-Paz and Medina teamed up in 1998 to launch the visual image of La-Paz's novels.
Blogging
La-Paz's passion for writing and movies led her into the movie review industry in 2016, and she has worked for well- known production companies such as Warner Brothers, and Lionsgate. She has written articles on topics which range from Bible history to entertainment. She has reviewed mainstream films such as Guardians of The Galaxy, Heaven Is For Real, Disney's Frozen, and The Good House.
Website creation
La-Paz's passion for writing prompted her to create an outlet, Top Social Media Male and Female Writers, for seasoned and passionate writers in their early stages of creativity.
References
- Gong, Louie. "Mixed Heritage Center - Chocolate Burnout: A Lighthearted Novel Dealing with Some Humorous Aspects of Interracial Relation." www.mixedheritagecenter.org. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- "Academy Award Winning Director Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope Inspires The Innovative Artist Emunah La-Paz". WebWire. 2017-05-06.
- "Emunah La-paz". IMDb. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- La-Paz, Emunah (2017-07-01). Chocolate Burnout: Dump the Guy Eat the Chocolate. Hubbard Small Press Publications. ISBN 9780998275543.
- Book Club, Book Club. "Vicki L. Hubbard". AALBC.com, the African American Literature Book Club. LLC. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- "EUR Book Look: 'Why Do Married Men Cheat With Unattractive Women?' | EURweb". EURweb. 2011-04-26. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- Alexander, Tiffani. "Special to GMO: A Preview of Emunah La-Paz". www.glossmagazineonline.com. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
- Roth, Irene. "Book Review: Why Do Married Men Cheat with Unattractive Women? by Emunah La-Paz". Blogcritics.
- "Book Review: Memoir of a Jaded Woman by Emunah La-Paz". seattlepi.com. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- "Memoir of a Jaded Woman". Goodreads. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- Reviews, Kirkus. "Memoir of a Jaded Woman by Emunah La-Paz". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- O'Loughlin., Writing.ie. Editor Vanessa. "Memoir Of A Jaded Woman by Emunah La Paz". Writing.ie. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
- "Are Abusive Relationships 'Normal' for Black Women?". Clutch Magazine. Retrieved 2017-05-06.