Chris Stedile
Rossland News
Cafe Books was host to yet another successful local author this past week.
Originally from the Florida Everglades, Rosa Jordan now resides in Rossland with her partner Derek Choukalos.
Jordan has authored several books over her life, for young readers and adults, covering subjects from wild cats to Rossland’s history. It was her books on Cuba though that were at the forefront Friday night, most prominent her newest novel, The Woman She Was.
Ever since her first trip to Cuba, Jordan has been fascinated with the country.
“I first went to Cuba in 1995,” she said, “and after biking most of the way around the island’s coast, my partner Derek and I decided to co-author a cycling guide to Cuba.”
Cycling Cuba was published in 2002 and is no longer in print, but is available at local libraries.
“What fascinated me about Cuba from the start was the fact that it was so different from other places I’d traveled. A lot of what I had heard or read was wrong — either too positive or too negative. It wasn’t easy to figure out how things worked. So I kept returning, seeking insights into the Cuban way of doing things.”
In 2012, Jordan published The Woman She Was.
The novel begins with a triangle affair between Celia Cantu, a doctor in modern Havana, and two brothers; one a “godless Communist,” the other a “godless capitalist.” Their relationship quickly evolves into something totally unpredictable and even more complicated.