Lone Star Legend

Private lives become fodder for public consumption in Zepeda's sendup of the blog/traditional media divide. Austin, Tex., investigative journalist Sandy Saavedra blogs for LatinoNow when Levy Media turns the hard news Web site into a cheezy entertainment Web site, Nacho Papi. Becoming a pun-writing gossipmonger is not one of her goals, but Sandy dives into her job with total OMG results: a post about the Chupacabra leads to a recurring advice column (“Ask the Chupacabra”) and a booming sideline in related merchandise. Problem is, the source of the Chupacabra craze is a little bit off, didn't sign a release form, and has a personal connection to Sandy's beloved late great aunt Linda. Then Sandy's outed as the author of her anonymous and very personal blog, My Modern TragiComedy, leading to outraged responses from those she's skewered. Internet celebrity follows, as do the inevitable office politics and romantic troubles, and though they get more stage time than warranted, Zepeda (Houston, We Have a Problema ) gives readers a funny and smart heroine that readers will easily pull for, even in the dull bits. (Jan.)