{"id":761,"date":"2013-11-11T22:39:04","date_gmt":"2013-11-11T22:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saraalva.com\/?p=761"},"modified":"2013-11-26T00:12:28","modified_gmt":"2013-11-26T00:12:28","slug":"scenes-from-silent-pt-1-and-a-giveaway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/saraalva.com\/?p=761","title":{"rendered":"Scenes from Silent pt. 1 (and a giveaway!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, Silent<\/em><\/a> has been out for two weeks now, and I’m holding a proof of the paperback! It will be ready for release by December. To celebrate, I’m doing a giveaway. \ud83d\ude42 See the details at the bottom of the post.<\/p>\n

I thought I’d take a moment to share a little about the places where Alex and Seb find themselves throughout the novel.\u00a0Silent<\/em>\u00a0is set almost entirely within Los Angeles, but each stop on the boys’ journey has a very different flavor. In October I drove around LA with a camera in tow and took photos of some of the places that inspired scenes in the book.<\/p>\n

Scenes from Silent<\/em><\/h2>\n

Watts, Los Angeles<\/em><\/h3>\n

Tell anyone in most parts of LA that you\u2019re going to Watts, and chances are you\u2019ll get a skeptical eyebrow raised and an incredulous \u201cWhat for?\u201d You might even receive some advice to keep your car doors locked while driving, or to not wear certain colors. Don\u2019t stop certain places, don\u2019t go through the projects, and don\u2019t even think of going there at night.<\/p>\n

Some of this fear is based in reality, but a lot of it is fear of the unknown. Though Watts may not be a tourist destination, it\u2019s still a neighborhood. Yes, there are gangs, and yes, there is crime. I don\u2019t mean to sugar coat it\u2014it\u2019s not the safest place and there are real struggles that many of the residents face. But there are also families and businesses and music and amazing street art. It\u2019s still home<\/i> to many Los Angelenos.<\/p>\n

This is the neighborhood where Alex grew up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\t\t