Gracianna

Gracianna is inspired by true events in the life of Trini Amador’s great-grandmother, Gracianna Lasaga. As an adult, Amador was haunted by the vivid memory of finding a loaded German Luger tucked away in a nightstand while wandering his great-grandmother’s home in Southern California. He was only four years old at the time, but the memory remained and he knew he had to explore the story behind the gun.

Decades later, Amador would delve into the remarkable odyssey of his Gracianna’s past, a road that led him to an incredible surprise. In Gracianna, Amador weaves fact and fiction to tell his great-grandmother’s story

Gracianna bravely sets off to Paris in the early 1940s—on her way to America, she hopes—but is soon swept into the escalation of the war and the Nazi occupation of Paris. After chilling life-and-death struggles, she discovers that her missing sister has surfaced as a laborer in Auschwitz. When she finds an opportunity to fight back against the Nazis to try to free her sister, she takes it—even if it means using lethal force.

As Amador tells the imagined story of how his great-grandmother risked it all, he delivers richly drawn characters and a heart-wrenching page-turner that readers won’t soon forget.

“Gracianna is a riveting and remarkable narrative. The characters come alive through their unassuming but compelling stories, as Nazi-occupied Paris unfolds before our eyes. We come to care deeply about the characters, which makes putting down the book almost impossible. Highly recommended.”
—Stacey Katz Bourns, Director of Language Programs, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Harvard University

“While wine is obviously a significant part of life’s enjoyment, the story behind the wine can be even more gratifying. You will be fixated on this thrilling story written by Trini Amador, which was inspired by Gracianna, his great-grandmother, the French Basque namesake of his family’s award-winning winery in Sonoma County.”
—Bob Cabral, Director of Winemaking & General Manager, Williams Selyem Winery

“Gracianna is an impressive debut historical fiction novel by Trini Amador! Set in Paris during World War II, readers will be easily swept up in the extraordinary story of Amador’s great-grandmother, Gracianna, and her fight to free her sister from the Nazis. Engrossing and well-written, I highly recommend you check out Gracianna!
—Amy Bruno, Passages to the Past and HF Virtual Book Tours

“Gracianna is a gripping story about human courage and determination. This book truly deserves a movie because of the action and emotions in it. Trini Amador has done a fantastic job in bringing the story of his amazing grandmother to life. A must read for fiction and non-fiction lovers alike.”
—Felipe Korzenny, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication, Florida State University.

- National trade marketing and sales campaign
- Advanced distribution of digital ARC to reviewers, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media
- Book website in development