The Perez Family

Christine Bell grew up in Yonkers, New York. Having decided in eighth grade that she was going to be a poet, Bell studied English literature at Mercy College. After graduation, however, she found herself in jobs that ranged from selling lingerie to working in the health-care field, as a nurse's aide, an EKG technician, and a cardiovascular technologist. Bell eventually concluded that she was not going to make a living through her poetry and decided to try writing novels instead.

The decision led to The Saint, the story of an American woman who marries an Argentinean and experiences a variety of challenges as she adjusts to a new country and culture. Initially rejected by 12 agents and 72 publishers, The Saint was eventually published by a small press in Florida and then sold well enough that it was picked up by a large publishing house and reprinted three times.

After The Saint was published, Bell's second novel The Perez Family was accepted for publication after only five rejections. The Perez Family was the story of two Cubans who escape to the United States as part of the Mariel boatlift in 1980. Once in the U.S., the two Perezes pretend to be husband and wife because families are given priority over individuals in receiving services. The comedy of errors and mistaken identities that results is further complicated by the efforts of San Lazaro, an overworked and somewhat inept patron saint.

Bell has also published a book of short stories, The Seven-Year Atomic Makeover Guide and Other Stories.

Bell lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

030