Author to participate in Lake Geneva book signing in July
By Kellen Olshefski
SLN Staff
When she became unknowingly and mistakenly engaged to a young man in Mexico more than 50 years ago, area author Sonette Tippens never realized that one day the ensuing events over the following half a century would one day be fodder for a book.
However, today, Tippens’s experiences at a Mexican great house, once only pages in detailed journals for personal remembrance, are forever ingrained in the pages of a book she’s sharing with readers of all demographics.
For those who think the name rings a bell, that’s because it should. Tippens, formerly Sonette Salter, was a long time Spanish teacher at Elkhorn Area High School.
Tippens said her book is set between the years of 1963, the very first time she traveled to the art colony San Miguel de Allende, in the mountains of Central Mexico, up until about 2010 and describes her experiences living in a great house, which she described as a large house run with lots of servants in the traditional Mexico that has essentially disappeared over the years.
“I was very close to this one particular family for all of my life,” she said.
After retiring, Tippens said she began again spending long periods of time with the family in 2001 and in 2012 began writing her book.
“I kept very detailed journals when I lived there, not with the idea of writing a book,” she said. “I thought, when I get old, I’ll read these journals and I’ll kind of relive all these wonderful, amazing adventures.
“But then, I decided to turn them into a book.”
The great house she lived in sat in what is known as a colonial monument, meaning nothing could be built newer than the 1700s. Everything had to preserved.
“The house I lived in sat in the middle of this district and the family kept all those old traditions, which are just fascinating,” she said.
When she first went to Mexico, Tippens said not understanding the ancient customs, she became accidentally engaged to the heir to the home.
“So, I accepted this proposal of marriage, but I didn’t know I had accepted,” she said. “I thought we were all wonderful friends, I really liked his family.”
Tippens said this continued on, however, the young man was murdered before any plans were ever set for a marriage. As a result, the young man’s family viewed her as his widow and have treated her as such ever since.
Tippens’s book, “The Great House of Raul Rodriguez,” chronicles her adventures and experiences over the years and focuses heavily on the traditional Mexican culture.
“There’s a lot of mystery in it and it’s all true,” she said, noting the book covers things that happened both during and between her visits.
“There were murders connected with these mysteries that happened while I was there. For awhile there, I was getting frightened because I kind of knew too much.”
While the family she lived with was wealthy, Tippens said her book doesn’t only recount her experiences with the Mexican elite. A fan of cooking, Tippens said she also spent a lot of her time in the kitchen, watching one of the servants cook elaborate, daily meals.
“It got to be that we became friends,” she said. “When she would come home from visits to her family way out in the countryside in these little, tiny homes, she would tell me everything that was going on with her family. Of course, it’s a whole different look.
“To hear all her tales of what was going on where she lived, it was like living in the middle of a soap opera or a fantastic movie with multiple layers.”
With the family running a Mexican boutique and pharmacy, Tippens said she also learned a lot about daily life as she became friends with the woman who ran it and the people of the town who came in.
“I got to be present and observe all of this and it was just fascinating,” she said.
Tippens who has a Masters of Fine Arts in painting, painted while she was in Mexico and copies of her paintings – all of the originals have been sold – were used for the cover of the book.
Tippens said the feedback on her book has been overwhelmingly positive, with positive reviews coming from men and women of all ages.
Self-published through Red Apple Publishing, Tippens book is available at Barnes and Noble, online at Amazon and even at the Pharmacy Station, 3 E. Geneva St., in Elkhorn. Tippens’s book is also available for free on the Kindle app.
Tippens will be participating in Breadloaf Book Shop’s Lakefront Author Fest on July 9. Tippens will be at the event in Lake Geneva’s Library Park with books available to sign and discuss with those interested.
