Sunday 27 May 2012

Guest post from the fantabulous Magaly Guerrero!!!

I was totally thrilled when Magaly asked if she could borrow my blog to publicise her new ebook AlmaMia Cienfuegos: a Story of Blood, Scars and Nightmares. It is my personal opinion that Magaly  is destined  to be one of the great writers of our times, as she puts her entire being into every word she writes, and draws on the raw emotion of real life to empower her characters.

AlmaMia Cienfuegos' Mango Tree.

"A few weeks before I decided to share AlmaMia Cienfuegos with the world, I got an email from Gina telling me I was going to get a surprise in the mail. I was super excited. Then I kind of forgot about the message because I had less than three weeks to shape two chapters of a standalone short story, get a cover for it, spread the word about the release, work on final exams and write a few articles that were due in between.
One night, I was sitting in bed studying for a literature final, and exchanging emails with Shelle - wonderful artist and friend. I was telling her I loved how she had illustrated  my description of AlmaMia Cienfuegos' cover when my Piano Man walked into the bedroom and handed me the mail. In one of the packages I found this daydream of a tree:
Gina titled the piece "Happy Place & Serenity". I stared at the piece for a long, long, long time. I was mostly enchanted. My dear Gina sent this happy tree, which grows in a warm world of rainbows, a week before she knew anything about AlmaMia's tale.

If you read AlmaMia Cienfuegos: a Story of Blood, Scars and Nightmares, you will see why this tree touched my heart. Actually, some of it can be seen in this excerpt; my main character's safe place is at the top of a Mango tree, overlooking her village.

My own happy place, while growing up in the Dominican Republic, was the top of a tree. I built a platform on three of the highest branches - my brother helped a little - we secured the sides with rope, and the place became my reading haven. My warm place of happiness and serenity; all night, I planned mayhem there too, but that's another post.

My Mango tree sanctuary stayed in the Caribbean after I moved to the United States. I liked it so much I brought it to AlmaMia's world. Gina has given it back to me. Our tree has rooted on top of my antique typewriter. I look at it when I wake up, while I write, before I go off to sleep...and every time, I smile at the fiery rainbow beyond the tree. Don't you just love it when art doesn't just recreate life, but it creates it?

To learn more about AlmaMia Cienfuegos, stop by my writing blog and read an excerpt. For the chance to win 1 0f 13 copies of my e-book leave a comment on this post, telling me about a story that holds a bit of your world.

And to enter AlmaMia's charm bracelet give away, visit the other tour stops and leave comments.


AlmaMia Cienfuegos' Blog Stops
Day 7 – May 27th - AlmaMia Cienfuegos’ Mango Tree - Daydream Believer



Magaly Guerrero writes, reads, and dreams dark fiction. She is the author of Pagan Culture, a blog about everyday life through the eyes of a dark fiction writer. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and at www.magalyguerrero.com. "



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15 comments:

  1. OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this great intro by Gina AND her art... I wondered who had done that... when I saw that art with the bracelet!!!! I'm so excited... OK I should say my safe place was under the old oak table (I guess it was a tree but vomit if I stand on a ladder so heights are a no no) on the back veranda with a pile of well worn comic books & a vanilla Paddle Pop (every time I really long for that Paddle Pop I can't believe they do every flavour EXCEPT Vanilla now) ... Love this post... longing for a Vanilla Paddle Pop too... bugger!

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    1. Shelle, when I got that tree on the mail, I nearly wept. I was just looking at your first draft of AlmaMia's cover and the colors, or my goodness! Well, you can see why I was so taken. She didn't know, Shelle!

      What do you mean they don't make vanilla? How can they take your dreamy Paddle Pop away? In the worlds of my Little Princess, "No fair!"

      Oh, and when I build another tree fort, I'll do it by the trunk--I don't want you to get sick ;-)

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  2. No one should be allowed to make me cry at six in the morning *sniff, sniff*

    Your words tightened my heart and made my soul fly out to sing with the birds. Thank you, Gina dear ;-)

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    1. You are too wonderful, Simona! By the way, I'm working on 13 Goddess post right now ;-)

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  5. I agree with Gina's intro. Magaly, you are wonderful! And so is Gina and her art. :) Great post! Well, no trees for me when growing up in a concrete jungle. But I'm compensating now by living in the middle of a forest. :) But I'm not climbing trees.

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    1. Thank you NatashaMay (I love typing your name; it's so pretty!). I live in concrete jungle too, at the moment. But I still climb trees in the park (some cops don't love me very much), I love to climb to rooftops, I enjoy repelling, hm... I guess I like heights.

      But more than anything, is the peace I get sitting on a tree branch. There is a certain kind of tranquility that fills the heart when you know that there is only you, some birds and perhaps a squirrel wondering why you are sitting there with no food for it.

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  6. I have a spot like that back home in El Paso. It isn't a tree, but a wicker chair in my best friends' moms' backyard, where all the birdies like to congregate and various desert life comes to take a break. Beautiful post as always!

    \IiiI

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    1. There used to be a rocking chair at my grandmother's house that reminds me of your wicker chair. It was the first choice of cats, birds and kids ;-)

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  7. The tree on that beautiful warm sunshine, no wonder the strong connection with Magaly Guerrero, with whom I have been lucky enough to exchange comments lately, maybe I have met through your blog.

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    1. It looks like the sun is being born, doesn't it? I think it difficult not to feel some kind of connection with it.

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  8. Wonderfull post! I meet so many people that were like me as a little one, and had a tree top hide-away. It's a primal sort of thing I guess, being perched up there in branches between earth and sky.

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    1. It feels like nothing is unreachable, doesn't it? Like you have a secret and it is so important. Like Nature whispered something to your ears alone...

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  9. What a beautiful post Magaly ;o) I agree with Gina, you are destined to be one of the best writers of our time ;o) You know, I was wondering what "picture" was behind the bracelet? It was Gina's amazing art! Everything went together perfectly for you ;o) It was written in the stars ;o) Hugs ;o)

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