Rosquete Press

08/11/2025

¡Feliz Navidad! Present from my wife.

26/10/2025

Un rayo nunca cae dos veces. Last year I won the prestigious Rodolfo Anaya Award in English. This year in Spanish!

The International Latino Book Awards Celebrates The High Quality of Books By & About Latinos – Here’s the 2025 Award Winning Authors By Kirk Whisler
The International Latino Book Awards, which have been produced by Empowering Latino Futures since 1998, provide great insights into the evolution of books. This year’s awards, when over 5,000 books coming in it took 222 judges to review all the entries. The most common comment from these judges was how many GREAT books they were seeing in all the various 87 categories within the Awards.
Winning Books, Honorable Mention books are also celebrated. All these books are also worth reading and enjoying. The 27th annual International Latino Book Awards was held on October 25 at the Concert Hall on the campus of MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CA. Attending the Awards were authors from across the USA and at least 30 authors from across Latin America, Spain and elsewhere in the world. It was commented that this is the most international Latino awards show after the Latin Grammies. Special awards are named after Alma Flor Ada, Isabel Allende, Rudolfo Anaya, Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Charlie Eriksen, Juan Felipe Herrera, Dolores Huerta, Hank Lacayo, Mimi Lozano, Ambassador Julian Nava, Luis Valdez, Victor Villaseñor, and Raul Yzaguirre. At the Awards finalists will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal for their efforts. To learn more about the awards, entering the awards, and the Int’l Society of Latino Authors, go to www.LatinoBooks.org Here are this year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners. Empowering Latino Futures’ International Latino Book Awards:

FICTIONAWARDS:
The Rudolfo Anaya Best Latino Focused Fiction Book Award – Spanish
GOLD MEDAL:
Sabor Chocolate, Rocky Barilla; Rosquete Press; San Francisco, CA; Insights from the ILBA judges, 'Esta es una novela muy bonita, tierna e interesante. La historia desde principio a fin mantiene al lector interesado y es difícil dejar de leer el libro.

26/10/2025

Lightning strikes twice!

Un rayo nunca cae dos veces. Last year I won the prestigious Rodolfo Anaya Award in English. This year in Spanish!

The International Latino Book Awards Celebrates The High Quality of Books By & About Latinos – Here’s the 2025 Award Winning Authors By Kirk Whisler
The International Latino Book Awards, which have been produced by Empowering Latino Futures since 1998, provide great insights into the evolution of books. This year’s awards, when over 5,000 books coming in it took 222 judges to review all the entries. The most common comment from these judges was how many GREAT books they were seeing in all the various 87 categories within the Awards.
Winning Books, Honorable Mention books are also celebrated. All these books are also worth reading and enjoying. The 27th annual International Latino Book Awards was held on October 25 at the Concert Hall on the campus of MiraCosta College in Oceanside, CA. Attending the Awards were authors from across the USA and at least 30 authors from across Latin America, Spain and elsewhere in the world. It was commented that this is the most international Latino awards show after the Latin Grammies. Special awards are named after Alma Flor Ada, Isabel Allende, Rudolfo Anaya, Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Charlie Eriksen, Juan Felipe Herrera, Dolores Huerta, Hank Lacayo, Mimi Lozano, Ambassador Julian Nava, Luis Valdez, Victor Villaseñor, and Raul Yzaguirre. At the Awards finalists will receive a Gold, Silver, or Bronze Medal for their efforts. To learn more about the awards, entering the awards, and the Int’l Society of Latino Authors, go to www.LatinoBooks.org Here are this year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners. Empowering Latino Futures’ International Latino Book Awards:

FICTIONAWARDS:
The Rudolfo Anaya Best Latino Focused Fiction Book Award – Spanish
GOLD MEDAL:
Sabor Chocolate, Rocky Barilla; Rosquete Press; San Francisco, CA; Insights from the ILBA judges, 'Esta es una novela muy bonita, tierna e interesante. La historia desde principio a fin mantiene al lector interesado y es difícil dejar de leer el libro.

12/10/2025

Reading "Funny Story." rom-com about a librarian.

😍📚💗

07/06/2025

LA PERLA NEGRA – The Black Pearl

Ediciones: español, English
Género: Ficción histórica, realismo mágico
Ambientación: 1527 la conquista de México

Esta aventura comienza con una llamada telefónica que el Profesor Francisco Reynoso recibe de una tienda de libros anticuarios. La tienda le ofrece una serie de documentos viejos y polvorientos que quizá le ayuden con un artículo que está escribiendo para una revista académica. El articulo trata el tema de una expedición secreta del comandante Hernán Cortés en 1527 a las Molucas (Islas de Especias).

Los documentos están en malas condiciones y fueron escritos en varios idiomas. Francisco Reynoso se ve obligado a colaborar con expertos lingüísticos, históricos y marítimos. Él viaja a México a estudiar la leyenda de las perlas negras y de la Princesa Azteca, Yepyollotli. La Princesa se salvó de ser sacrificada a la Diosa de la Luna cuando los españoles la secuestraron y la enviaron al Oriente para venderla como esclava. Mientras que Francisco desenreda los detalles de la maldición de la Diosa de la Luna, el conoce a la Dra. Alejandra Mora y se enamora profundamente.

Este es un cuento de romances agridulces, de aventura, de traición, y de dolor. ¿Qué precisamente fue la maldición de la Diosa? ¿Se podrá romper el hechizo? ¿Qué les pasará a Francisco y Alejandra?

***

Genre: Historical fiction, magical realism
Setting : 1527 Zihuatanejo to the Molucas

First Place Winner of the 2023 International Latino Book Awards for Best Novel - Historical Fiction. Now available in Spanish.

It all began with a phone call from an antiquarian bookstore to Stanford Professor Francisco Reynoso. He was excited about his academic journal article on Comandante Hernán Cortés’ 1527 secret expedition to the Moluccas (Spice Islands). Dusty old diaries and moldy sea logs required him to collaborate with linguistic, cultural, and maritime experts.

Traveling to Mexico, Francisco tries to unravel the legend of the black pearls and of the Aztec princess Yepyollotli who was snatched from human sacrifice to the Moon Goddess when she was kidnapped by Spaniards and sent to the Orient to become a royal slave. As Francisco further delves into the Moon Goddess’ curse upon the young princess, he meets Dr. Alejandra Mora and falls deeply in love.

This is a bittersweet story of romance, adventure, betrayal, and sorrow. What is the curse of the Moon Goodness? Can the curse be broken? What will happen to Francisco and Alejandra?

07/06/2025

TURQUOISE - El Colibrí de Turquesa

Genre: Historical fiction, magical realism
Setting: 19th century Mexico and China

International Latino Book Award author, Rocky Barilla, presents another mesmerizing magical realism novel. This is a thrilling journey filled with love, mystery, prejudice, and greed.

A tall slender woman with silky black hair and almond eyes appears at Professor Francisco Reynoso’s office at the University of Guadalajara. Her long, pink, silk dress is slit up to her thigh. Lili Song and her squatty male colleague want to fund a project to conduct research about the Chinese migration to Mexico in the late 19th century.

Despite academic integrity reservations, two universities undertake the project which focuses on Chan Toy, a Chinese indentured servant from Guangzhou, China to migrate to Mexico and his wife, Ana Azuleta, a Mexican-Yaqui. Chan Toy and Ana have many adventures and misfortunes as they travel throughout Mexico and back to Guangzhou, China.

However, the real objective of the Chinese sponsors is the procurement of Ana’s special turquoise colibrí (hummingbird) amulet that is believed to have magical properties.

The Mexican Ministry of Justice becomes involved in the project when it is discovered that historical documents have been stolen from the Museum of Anthropology and that there are plans to steal and illegally transport artifacts out of Mexico.

05/05/2025

The Language Coordinator at UTSMA.Technological University of San Miguel de Allende and an English teacher are using my book "A Taste of Chocolate" in their classes. Thanks to my Stanford roommate Ace where he works after several tours in the Peace Corps.

29/01/2025

Yay! My first book in Spanish! The gold medal winner of the International Latino Book Rudolfo Anaya Award (2024) has been translated into Spanish and is available on Kindle. More in the pipeline.
I plan to enter this book in the Guadalajara International Book Fair this year.

24/01/2025

Unfortunately, two of my books, "Sanctuary" and "Shattered Dreams," are very timely right now.

31/10/2024

The Paperback version is now available on Amazon.

International Latino Book Award author, Rocky Barilla, presents another mesmerizing magical realism novel. This is a thrilling journey filled with love, mystery, prejudice, and greed.
A tall slender woman with silky black hair and almond eyes appears at Professor Francisco Reynoso’s office at the University of Guadalajara. Her long, pink, silk dress is slit up to her thigh. Lili Song and her s… See more

My latest manuscript, "Turquoise," is now available on Amazon as a Kindle download.
International Latino Book Award author, Rocky Barilla, presents another mesmerizing magical realism novel. This is a thrilling journey filled with love, mystery, prejudice, and greed.
A tall slender woman with silky black hair and almond eyes appears at Professor Francisco Reynoso’s office at the University of Guadalajara. Her long, pink, silk dress is slit up to her thigh. Lili Song and her squatty male colleague want to fund a project to conduct research about the Chinese migration to Mexico in the late 19th century.
Despite academic integrity reservations, two universities undertake the project which focuses on Chan Toy, a Chinese indentured servant from Guangzhou, China to migrate to Mexico and his wife, Ana Azuleta, a Mexican-Yaqui. Chan Toy and Ana have many adventures and misfortunes as they travel throughout Mexico and back to Guangzhou, China.
However, the real objective of the Chinese sponsors is the procurement of Ana’s special turquoise colibrí (hummingbird) amulet that is believed to have magical properties.
The Mexican Ministry of Justice becomes involved in the project when it is discovered that historical documents have been stolen from the Museum of Anthropology and that there are plans to steal and illegally transport artifacts out of Mexico.