Olga Núñez Miret's Blog: Author Translator Olga, page 81

Novedades literarias y presentaci��n. Javier Haro Herr��iz

Hola a todos:

Es viernes y toca novedad (o en este caso novedades) literarias. Hoy nos vuelve a visitar nuestro prol��fico amigo Javier Haro Herr��iz. Esta vez, adem��s de traernos sus nuevos libros, aprovecho que hoy (si es que le��is el post el d��a 6 de Marzo, si no llegar��is un poco tarde) presenta su nueva novela, para anunciaros tambi��n la presentaci��n, por si est��is en Valencia y os pod��is pasar. Yo no voy a poder, pero no ser�� por falta de ganas!

Primero, las novelas que Javier ha publicado recientemente:

TERROR Y THRILLER

LA CABA��A de J.H.H.

LA CABA��A ���:

SINOPSIS���: ��l conoce tus miedos m��s ��ntimos���

1�� PARTE���: EXCURSI��N AL INFIERNO���: Un grupo de amigos deciden pasar un fin de semana en una caba��a perdida en los bosques de Virginia Occidental, sin saber que est��n a punto de adentrarse en la m��s horrible de las pesadillas.

2�� PARTE���: 10 A��OS DESPU��S���: Despu��s de diez largos a��os, el terror vuelve a los bosques de Virginia Occidental cuando una familia decide solucionar una grave crisis pasando un fin de semana cerca de la caba��a maldita.

3�� PARTE���: EL FINAL DE SIMON HOCKSTER���: Han pasado otros cinco a��os, y parece que por fin el asesino de la caba��a ha encontrado un rival capaz de hacer frente a sus mal��ficos poderes de ultratumba. Pero pod��is estar seguros de que no se rendir�� sin plantar batalla.

4�� PARTE���: LA HISTORIA DE SIMON HOCKSTER, EL ORIGEN DE LA LEYENDA���: Conoceremos c��mo Hockster se convirti�� en una criatura de las sombras sedienta de sangre durante la segunda d��cada del siglo veinte.

LINK���: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00PHWV104

��

LOS FASCINANTES ENIGMAS DE JACKIE LAMONT de J.H.H.

LOS FASCINANTES ENIGMAS DE JACKIE LAMONT���:

SINOPSIS���: Ella es Jackie Lamont, una avispada y exitosa escritora de novelas de terror er��tico con una enorme facilidad para meterse en las situaciones m��s absurdas y peligrosas, y enfrentarse a los criminales m��s siniestros y malvados, entre ellos un culto de origen nazi o un peligroso asesino de prostitutas��� Emoci��n, acci��n y unas cuantas pinceladas picantes en este libro de misterio e intriga ambientado en el Londres de los a��os treinta���

LINK���: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00RC3R2W2

��

CIENCIA-FICCI��N Y AVENTURA

BLANCO OMEGA 2.0 (EL PODER DE LOS FRAGMENTOS) de J.H.H.

BLANCO OMEGA: EL PODER DE LOS FRAGMENTOS���:

SINOPSIS���: Tras a��os de inactividad, Victor Gabriel D��az L��pez es requerido por los restos de la Fuerza Omega para convertirse en su ��nico Campe��n y Portador en un Nuevo Universo surgido de las cenizas del anterior��� ��Qu�� nuevos retos y villanos aguardan al flamante y valeroso h��roe de Torrente?

LINK���: viewBook.at/B00P6CE3PU

 

OMEGAVERSO FICHAS de J.H.H.

OMEGAVERSO: FICHAS���:

SINOPSIS���: En este libro encontrar��s todas las fichas de los personajes aparecidos en los cuatro primeros libros de la saga de BLANCO OMEGA… Poderes, habilidades, lugares de origen. Todo, absolutamente todo est�� en este libro.

LINK���: myBook.to/B00M74BI26

 

METRO CITY ARCHIVOS SECRETOS de J.H.H.

METRO CITY: ARCHIVOS SECRETOS���:

SINOPSIS���: DESCUBRE LOS PRIMEROS A��OS DE LOS MAYORES H��ROES DE METRO CITY. SUS PRIMEROS ��XITOS Y FRACASOS. DESCUBRE C��MO SE FORM�� EL JUSTICE COMMANDO Y DESCUBRE CU��LES FUERON LOS MOTIVOS DE SU PRIMER ABANDONO���

 

LAS AVENTURAS DE S��PER V de J.H.H.

LAS AVENTURAS DE S��PER V���:

SINOPSIS���: El d��a de su decimoquinto cumplea��os el joven V��ctor recibi�� el mejor regalo de su vida…: Unas zapatillas m��gicas muy especiales. Unas zapatillas m��gicas que lo llevaran a vivir aventuras s��per emocionantes y conocer personajes de lo m��s interesantes… ��Est��s dispuesto a conocerlas t�� tambi��n?

LINK���: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00OGJZKQA

��

INVASION 0.1 DE J.H.H.

INVASI��N 0.1���:

SINOPSIS���: Llegaron una noche de verano, y se hicieron con el control del Gobierno del Reino Unido, aisl��ndolo del resto del Mundo mediante artima��as y subterfugios. Convirtieron el Palacio de Buckingham en una prisi��n e iniciaron un reinado de terror, convirtiendo a los brit��nicos en esclavos sin esperanza���

Ahora s��lo queda una esperanza, llamada Special Operative��� Un grupo paramilitar fuertemente entrenado con una ��nica misi��n: Acabar con el invasor y devolver a las islas brit��nicas su libertad���

LINK���: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00R8JMMTS

��

HUMOR Y DRAMA

EL HIJO DE PUTA de J. H.H.

EL HIJO DE PUTA���: Conclusi��n de la historia iniciada con MEMORIAS DE UN VIEJO CARRO. Esta es la historia de Luciano Segovia el ���Mulato���, un hijo de puta en el sentido m��s literal de la expresi��n. Acostumbrado desde peque��o a convivir rodeado de mujeres de la vida, aprender�� a hacer de ello una ���profesi��n��� y su modo de subsistir, sin dejar por ello de ser un caballero.

LINK���: ��viewBook.at/B00Q1SWF1C

Y como os hab��a prometido, si pod��is, no os perd��is, la:

PRESENTACI��N LIBRO LOS CASOS DE LA INSPECTORA MUNT

LOS CASOS DE LA INSPECTORA MUNT de J.H.H.

LOS CASOS DE LA INSPECTORA MUNT���:

SINOPSIS���: La historia de una Inspectora de la Polic��a de Barcelona que har�� lo imposible por esclarecer el asesinato de su compa��ero, acaecido dos a��os atr��s, mientras intenta desmantelar una trama corrupta dentro del propio departamento y se enfrenta a los horrores de la vida moderna, como puedan ser asesinos en serie o un peligroso terrorista. Tensi��n y suspense garantizados de la primera a la ��ltima p��gina���

LINK���: http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00SDBTUBI

La presentaci��n tendr�� lugar el d��a 6 de Marzo a las 19:00 horas en la librer��a BIBLIOMANIA de Valencia, sita en la Calle Marv�� n�� 9.

PLANO DE SITUACI��N DE LA LIBRER��A���: http://www.libreriabibliomania.com/donde-estamos.html

Todos est��is invitados, y ��no os olvid��is de correr la voz.

Muchas gracias a Javier Haro Herr��iz por traernos sus libros y por su invitaci��n, a todos vosotros por leer, y ya sab��is, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid y haced CLIC! Y si pod��is, id a la presentaci��n y contadme qu�� tal!

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka by Hans M. Hirschi. A ‘late’ blog tour entry of sorts.

I must explain the background to this post. I saw that author Hans Hirschi (whom I had met through Twitter and��Triberr) was seeking blogs for a blog tour just around Christmas time last year. Having heard about the book and being keen on reading it, I thought the tour would give me the perfect excuse (if I needed one). I signed in (the process was via a Google form. I must confess I don���t like them very much as I���m never sure they���ve gone. With the majority of blog tours I get an e-mail with the possible blog tours, I reply and I receive an answer directly from the organiser. That allows me to contact back if I haven���t heard anything in a while, but with the forms you have nobody to contact. End of my rant about Google forms.). I did tell the writer that I had signed for the tour, but never received anything from the tour organiser and assumed they must have had too many offers. When later the author told me he hadn���t seen my post I explained that I never received the book for review or the information. I suspect I must have entered the wrong e-mail address but���So, better late than never I decided to read the book and have included the rest of the material in the original tour in this post. (Thanks Hans and sorry again).

First, the post as it was meant to be:

 

Enjoy Happy Geek Media���s debut virtual tour of The Fallen Angels of Karnataka

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka by:

Hans M. Hirschi

Published by:

Yaree AB

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Social Awareness, Literary, Travel

264 pages

Release Date: September 15, 2014

In an isolated mountain town in Norway, Haakon dreams of traveling the world, pursuing adventure, seeing great cities, finding love. His very first trip to London with friends from university offers much promise, yet soon after tragedy strikes. Still young, and mourning the loss of his lover, Haakon is not ready to give up on his dream, so when a rich Englishman offers him the chance to join him on a tour of the world, Haakon takes it, daring to believe that his dream is finally coming true…but at what price?

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka is a novel filled with adventure, life’s hard-learned lessons, loss, despicable evil, and finally, love and redemption. See what others are saying about The Fallen Angels of Karnataka on the author’s media page here.

AMAZON /NOOK/ADLIBRIS/ELIB/BOKUS/YAREE

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka is discounted to $5.99 right now, so grab a copy. The novel will not disappoint!

Author Hans M. Hirschi

Hans M Hirschi (b. 1967) has been writing stories ever since he was a child. Adulthood and the demands of corporate life efficiently put an end to his fictional writing for over twenty years.

A global executive in training and channel development, Hans has traveled the world and had previously published non-fictional titles.

The birth of his son and the subsequent parental leave provided him with the opportunity to unleash his creative writing once again. With little influence over his brain���s creative workings, he indulges it, going with the flow.

A deeply rooted passion for, faith in a better world, in love, tolerance and diversity are a red thread throughout both his creative and non-fictional work. His novels might best be described as ���literary romance, engaging characters and relevant stories that won���t leave you untouched, but hopeful.���

Hans is a proud member of the Swedish Writers��� Union, the Writers��� Center in Sweden and serves as chair of the Swedish Federation of Self- & Independent Publishers.

Website ��� Blog ��� Twitter ��� Facebook ��� Goodreads

 

 

I have removed the links to the giveaway and the tour as those are not live any longer. Sorry again about that!

Now, my review:

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka by Hans M. Hirschi. A dark fairy-tale treating a terrifying but all too real and difficult subject.

The Fallen Angels of Karnataka is a novel that reminded me of a variety of genres. It���s a bildungsroman. Haakon, the protagonist, is a young man from a small Norwegian farm, na��ve and not knowledgeable in the ways of life. The book shows us the process of his sexual awakening, how he discovers he is gay, his first experiences, his first rejection and heartbreak, his first love, and his first loss.

At a time when he���s lost everything and he���s been given what he thinks is a death sentence, an Englishman steps in, Charles, and makes him an offer that seems too good to be true. (Yes, we know all about it, but���) Haakon has always dreamt of travelling, and Charles offers him a dream contract to be his travelling companion, acting as a fairy godmother (or godfather) of sorts. He solves all the problems (including finding him medication for his newly diagnosed HIV infection) and does not seem to want anything back other than company and organisational skills. Of course, things aren���t quite as they seem, and the fairy tale turns much seedier and darker later in the book.

We follow Haakon and Charles in their travels, and the book could have become a travelogue. But although the novel provides beautiful vignettes and interesting observations and reflections about the places visited, their travel is described more in terms of an emotional and spiritual experience than a guide book. The journey our hero embarks on allows the readers to follow how the character grows, loses his ���at times terribly annoying, at least to me��� na��vet�� and manages to find not only a partner (gorgeous, good and who has suffered too, one of the fallen angels of the title), but also a worthy mission.

Hans Hirschi tackles a difficult subject in this book. One of the most difficult subjects. Paedophilia. The fallen angels of the book title are not really fallen, but rather dragged down by adults who either aid and abate others or are themselves abusers. The author shines a light on some of the least tasteful aspects of an already difficult to deal with topic, by highlighting the plight of children who are abused because they are seen as dispensable. We���ve all heard of sexual tourism and this is an extreme example of it. Although the topic is distasteful and something that plenty of readers would much rather not read about, the author manages to build credible characters that do not completely lose their humanity, even though some of their behaviours might be abhorrent. Haakon acts, in a way, as a foil and reflects the attitude of most readers, who would find it difficult to reconcile how somebody who seems so kind, educated, sophisticated and helpful could also abuse children. It is also a cautionary tale that reminds us appearances can be very deceptive.

The ending is positive, in keeping with the fairy-tale aspect of it, and although not perfect, the hero���s journey shares on universal themes and shows character development and a well-constructed plot and structure. We can���t help but hope that in real life all these kids will find a place and there will be no more fallen angels.

The book is beautifully written and the omniscient narrator allows us to see and understand things from different characters��� point of view (mainly Haakon���s but not exclusively). That helps up share in his experiences but at times puts us in a very uncomfortable position, being party to thoughts or desires and impulses of deeply flawed characters.

I would recommend this book to readers who dare to explore darker subjects. It will be quite a ride but the rewards will be plenty. I don���t know if the writer has thought about revisiting any of the characters again, but I for one would love to hear more of Mahender���s story (hard as it would be). And I will put other works by the author in my list of future reads.

Thanks to the author for kindly allowing me to take part, even if well past the date, on the tour, thanks to all of you for reading, and please, like, share, comment and CLICK!

��Qu�� opin��is sobre las rese��as de libros? ��Y sobre autores rese��ando los libros de otros? Lectores, no se��is t��midos.

Hola a todos:

He le��do y o��do una variedad de argumentos sobre el tema de las rese��as. Muchos de los consejos para autores hablan de la necesidad de obtener rese��as, de lo importantes que son, de rese��as profesionales (las que proveen gente que se dedica a hacer rese��as como profesi��n. No conozco muchos sitios en espa��ol, en ingl��s,��Kirkus reviews��son muy conocidos, y all�� les env��as tu libro y si lo aceptan, pagas for una rese��a honesta, as�� que puedes acabar pagando para que digan algo malo de tu libro… eso sin nombrar algunos casos escandalosos de hace poco), sobre blogueros que rese��an libros en blogs literarios, sobre m��todos para intentar conseguir rese��as antes de publicar el libro (lo que en ingl��s llaman copias para rese��as de avance, que no es lo mismo que los lectores beta o cero) ya que las ventas parecen estar relacionadas con las ��rese��as. (Es lo de la gallina y el huevo. Como intentar conseguir un trabajo en algo en lo que no has trabajado nunca. Los jefes buscan a gente con experiencia pero no es posible conseguir experiencia si nadie te ofrece el primer trabajo. Puede ser m��s f��cil si eres un autor con otros libros publicados pero a��n y as��… Bienvenidos a este mundo. Os aseguro que la psiquiatr��a puede parecer menos complicada en comparaci��n a esto). Incluso si intentas ��ofrecer tu libro gratis y quieres promocionarlo en algunos sitios web, requieren un n��mero m��nimo de rese��as de cinco estrellas… (y si est��is acostumbrados a algunos de los lugares que ofrecen estos servicios en ingl��s, como Bookbub, sabr��is que ten��is que pagar bastante por el privilegio. S��, queridos lectores, uno tiene que pagar para anunciar que vas a regalar tu libro. Ya os hab��a comentado que la psiquiatr��a es f��cil a comparaci��n con esto).

Ya s�� que esto no tiene nada que ver con ��ngeles, pero os promet�� m��s fotos.

Hace poco le�� el post de una autora (Angel Sefer, en ingl��s) cuya opini��n sobre las rese��as es muy parecida a la m��a. Hay gente que cree que los autores no tendr��an que rese��ar los libros de otros autores porque puede que uno est�� influenciado, o que lo haga como parte de un intercambio de rese��as con otro escritor y por tanto la rese��a no ser�� “honesta” (sea cu��l sea la definici��n que escoj��is de la palabra en cuesti��n.Hoy en d��a se usa de una forma tan el��stica que es dif��cil de reconocer). Un escritor y lector me dijo recientemente que puede que a los lectores no les guste si creen que las recomendaciones de un autor no son sinceras y recomiendan un mal libro. Es un punto de vista similar al anterior. Amazon opina que los autores no deber��an rese��ar a otros autores que escriban en el mismo g��nero ya que ser��a competici��n desleal (parece que creen que intentar��amos apu��alarnos por la espalda. Y no es que yo diga que no pasa jam��s, pero…) .

Soy lectora. He le��do desde que aprend�� c��mo hacerlo, y es uno de mis amores por los que mi pasi��n no disminuye con el tiempo. La vida siempre me ha parecido mejor con un libro (o un lector de libro electr��nicos lleno de libros estos d��as) en las manos. Soy licenciada, tengo un doctorado en Literatura americana y estoy acostumbrada a escribir sobre libros y me encanta. Comentar y rese��ar libros depu��s de leerlos para m�� aumenta el placer de la experiencia, y me ayuda como escritora. No me preocupa mucho el n��mero de estrellas (en el caso de Amazon, su ��nica gu��a es que 5 estrellas quiere decir ‘I love it’ (me encanta), 4 ‘I like it’ (me gusta), 3 ‘It’s OK’ (est�� bien), 2 ‘I don’t like it’ (no me gusta) and 1 ‘I hate it’ (lo odio). No dice que solo le debemos dar 5 estrellas al mejor libro que hayamos le��do, porque entonces tendr��amos que escoger entre todos los libros que hemos le��do en la vida y los que podamos leer en el futuro, y si pens��is en otros productos, porque como sabemos Amazon vende de todo o casi, ��cu��ndo le dar��ais 5 estrellas a otro tipo de productos? Si lo recib��s a tiempo, est�� entero, funciona bien y hace lo que se supone que tiene que hacer. ��O esper��is que una tele os haga el desayuno, o que una plancha os cuente las noticias?) Me interesa m��s explicar las cosas que hacen que disfrute el libro, y que lo hacen diferente y especial para m��, si lo es. Soy muy consciente de que todos tenemos gustos distintos y al remarcar sobre distintos aspectos del libro conf��o en que otros puedan hacerse una mejor idea de si les podr��a gustar el libro o no. Por ejemplo, a m�� no me gustan demasiado las descripciones largu��simas de gente, lugares y ropa, pero admiro el conocimiento y el talento de algunos autores al escribirlas y s�� que hay gente a las que les encantan. No son malas, simplemente es algo que yo no escoger��a como preferencia. Pero yo no soy la persona que ha escrito el libro y s�� lo duro que es escribir editar y corregir un libro las veces que haga falta. S��, puede que me guste una idea y que se me ocurran otras maneras de escribir la misma historia, pero no soy ni la autora ni la editora del libro, as�� que no basar��a mi juicio en lo que yo har��a en su lugar. Esa no es la tarea del que escribe rese��as. El autor merece respeto.

Y otro

Yo tambi��n rese��o libros para una revista digital y en las instrucciones que recibimos se incluyen las directrices que debemos seguir y si no nos gusta un libro debemos darle una puntuaci��n baja. Por suerte, de momento no me ha pasado.

Tambi��n participo en blog tours. Por regla general uno de los requisitos, si accedes a incluir una rese��a del libro en cuesti��n, es que si tu rese��a va a ser de menos de 3 estrellas debes abstenerte de publicarla mientras dure el tour pero puedes publicarla una vez haya acabado. A m�� me suena razonable, y por supuesto nadie te obliga a participar. (Por cierto, a los blogs que participan en un tour no se les paga por participar, aunque si accedes a rese��ar el libro te env��an una copia gratu��ta unas semanas antes. Y por regla general te da las gracias el organizador del tour y el autor. Eso es todo.) Confieso que en una ocasi��n me retir�� de un blog tour. No es que yo creyera que el libro merec��a menos de 3 estrellas, pero no lo disfrut�� y no se me ocurr��a nada que ��yo pudiese escribir que le hiciese justicia al libro. Simplemente el libro y yo no encajamos. Y no, no os dir�� qu�� libro era. Le va bastante bien y evidentemente hay mucha gente que no piensa lo mismo que yo. Soy feliz por el autor/a.

Mi opini��n personal sobre esto es que ser��a una p��rdida de tiempo y una tonter��a no escribir rese��as solo porque yo tambi��n escribo libros. No creo que uno pueda ser escritor si uno no es un lector empedernido. Intentar�� escribir rese��as bien pensadas y espero que les sirvan como gu��a a otros futuros lectores para saber si puede gustarles o no el libro, sea la que sea mi opini��n personal. Si no me gusta nada un libro y creo que le dar��a una puntuaci��n muy baja, no publicar�� la rese��a. Yo publicar��a una mala rese��a de un producto que en mi opini��n supusiera un peligro para alguien, o fuera un fraude o una estafa, pero los libros llevan mucho m��s trabajo y requieren mucho ��m��s esfuerzo que el dinero que cuestan, y mi gusto personal no es para nada la ��ltima palabra en cuanto a libros (o a cualquier otra cosa) se refiere.

Aparte de en mi blog y en Lit World Interviews (solo en ingl��s, un blog donde tengo el honor de colaborar cuando puedo) tambi��n publico mis rese��as en��Goodreads, Amazon, Riffle, Booklikes y donde se me ocurre.

No es un ��ngel pero es bell��sima

Gracias por leer, perdonad por el serm��n, y por favor, decidme que pens��is, dadle al me gusta, comentad, y compartid si os apetece. Algunos de los enlaces os llevan a mi p��gina en los sitios web como ejemplo, y… ��porque nunca se sabe!

 

What’s your opinion of book reviews? Should authors review? Please readers, don’t be shy!

Hi all:

I’ve read and heard a variety of arguments on the subject or reviews. Much advice to authors focuses on the need to obtain reviews, on how important they are, on professional reviews (yes, because scandals apart, there are places, Kirkus reviews to name one of the best known, for example, that provide reviews for money, but we’re talking about honest, unbiased reviews, so as an author you might be in the weird situation of paying to get something bad said about you…hey, one can get that for free!), on bloggers who provide reviews, on methods to try and get reviews even before the book is finished (the famous ARC or ‘advance review copy’) as sales seem somehow linked to reviews. (It’s a bit of a catch 22 situations. Like trying to get a job on something you’ve never worked on before. Employers want experience and recommendations but you can’t get experience unless you get a first job on the field. Welcome to this world. Psychiatry is easy by comparison). Even if you’re trying to give your book for free, if you want to advertise it in certain sites, you need to have a number of five star reviews…(and in some cases pay a fair amount, like with Bookbub. Yes, dear readers, you have to pay to advertise that your book is for free. I told you psychiatry was easier in comparison).

I know it has nothing to do with angels but I promised you more pictures

More recently I also read a post by an author (Angel Sefer) whose take on author reviews ��is quite similar to mine. Some people feel authors shouldn’t review other authors because they might be biased, or be doing it as an exchange with other authors and therefore their reviews won’t be “honest” (whatever definition of that you might choose. I think the term is very elastic these days and has been deconstructed beyond recognition). A writer and reader recently told me that readers might not take it kindly if they think that authors’ recommendation are not sincere and we’re recommending bad work, I guess making a very similar point.��Amazon seems to think that authors should not review other writers in their same gender as it would be unfair competition (it seems they take the view that we’ll try and stab each other in the back).

I’m a reader. I’ve read since I learned how to, and it is one of my most enduring loves. Live always feels better with a book (or an e-reader full of books these days) in my hands. I have a BA and a PhD in American Literature and I’m used to writing about books and love it. Commenting on books and reviewing them afterwards enhances the experience for me. I’m not that bothered about the number of stars (in the case of Amazon, their only guidance is that 5 stars means ‘I love it’, 4 ‘I like it’, 3 ‘It’s OK’, 2 ‘I don’t like it’ and 1 ‘I hate it’. It doesn’t say that you should only give 5 stars to the best book you’ve ever read, because then you would have to choose one of the books you’ve read in all your life, and even make a judgement on the books you might read int he future, and if you think about other products, because Amazon as we know sells everything or pretty close, when would you give 5 stars to other products? If you get it quickly, it works well, and it does what it’s supposed to do. Or would you expect a TV to make you breakfast, or an iron to tell you the news?) I’m more interested in explaining the things that made the book enjoyable, distinctive and special for me. I’m fully aware that people have different tastes and by highlighting different aspects of the books I think others might get a better idea if they’d like the book or not. For example, I’m not that enamoured of very long descriptions of people, places and clothes, but I can admire and acknowledge the skills of some authors writing them and I know some people love them. They are not bad, they’re just not what I’d choose. But I’m not the person writing the book and I know how hard it is to write, edit and correct time and again a book. Yes, I might like an idea and think of other ways of writing the same story, but I’m neither the author nor the editor, so I wouldn’t base my judgement on what I’d do instead. That’s not my task as a reviewer. Authors deserve respect.

And another one

I review books for an online magazine and as part of the instructions we get is that we have to follow guidelines and if we don’t like a book we must give it a low score. Luckily, so far it hasn’t happened.

I also take part in book blogs. The usual understanding, if you agree to provide reviews, is that if you feel your review is going to be under 3 stars you should abstain from publishing it during the time of the tour but are free to do so afterwards. It sounds reasonable to me, and of course you’re not obliged to take part. (By the way, blogs taking part in blog tours are not paid for taking part, although if you agree to review you’re sent a copy of the book in advance. And usually get thanked by the organiser and the author.That is it.) I’ll confess in one occasion I withdrew from a blog tour. I didn’t think the book deserved less than 3 stars, but I didn’t enjoy it and couldn’t think of something fair to the book I could write. The book and I were simply not a good fit. And no, I won’t tell you what book it was. It’s doing quite well and evidently many people think differently from me. I’m pleased for the author.

My personal take on the matter is that it would be a waste and silly not to write reviews just because I happen to write too. I don’t think one can be a writer if one is not a reader. I will try and write thought-out reviews that I hope can give others an indication of what they might or might not like in a book, whatever my personal take on it. If I don’t like a book and think that I would give it a very low score, I would not post a review. I would post a bad review of a product that I felt would endanger somebody or was a fraud or a rip-off, but books take a lot more work than the money they charge for them, and my personal taste is by no means the be all and end all.

I post reviews, apart from in my blog and for Lit World Interviews (where I collaborate when I can), in Goodreads, Amazon, Riffle, Booklikes and wherever else I can think of.

Not an angel but gorgeous

Thanks for reading, sorry for the sermon, and please, tell me what you think, like, share, and comment if you feel like it. The links take you to my pages in some of the sites as an example and because… one never knows!

 

Revisitando posts de autores cl��sicos. Y, ��ten��is sugerencias para la nueva serie?

Hola a todos:

Los que me segu��s hace tiempo recordar��is que no hace mucho decid�� compartir de nuevo mi primer post. He estado pensando en otros posts y series que tanto yo como vosotros, mis lectores, han disfrutado, y record�� los posts sobre escritores y obras cl��sicas, que tanto disfrut��. He decidido intentar seguir con la serie regularmente (si puedo una vez al mes) y para celebrar la ocasi��n, he querido compartir de nuevo el primer post de entonces, dedicado a Cervantes. Por cierto, agradezco las sugerencias tanto de autores como de obras cl��sicas que os gustar��a ver en el futuro. Y ahora, mi post de hace casi dos a��os sobre:

 

Juan Mart��nez de J��uregui y Aguilar, Miguel de Cervantes, c.1610 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hace unas cuantas semanas decid�� empezar a dedicarle algunos de mis post de invitados a escritores cl��sicos en ingl��s, en parte porque me pareci�� que era de justicia despu��s de escribir tantos posts de autores modernos, y en parte porque me daba la oportunidad de visitar sus vidas y obras, ya que muchas est��n ahora disponibles, en formato electr��nico, baratitas. (Por cierto, si ten��is la suerte de vivir en otros pa��ses que no sean Espa��a, os dejo enlaces gratuitos). Hoy he decidido que les ha llegado la hora a escritores en lengua espa��ola. Y por supuesto, es de justicia empezar por Cervantes.

Breve biograf��a:

La vida de Cervantes no le tiene nada que envidiar a muchas novelas de aventuras de esas que siempre han tenido mucho ��xito. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra naci�� en 1547 en Alcal�� de Henares (no se sabe la fecha con seguridad aunque se acepta el 29 de Septiembre ya que era San Miguel y era costumbre bautizar a los ni��os con el nombre del santo del d��a) , el cuarto de 7 hijos (por casualidad mi post en ingl��s es sobre Jane Austen que tambi��n era una de 7 hijos) . Hijo de un cirujano (sordo) Don Rodrigo de Cervantes y do��a Leonor de Cortinas (d.1593). Rodrigo fue a la c��rcel debido a deudas impagadas y esto trajo dificultades a la familia. Miguel estudi�� Filosof��a y Literatura en Italia y se alist�� como soldado en N��poles en 1570. Fue herido durante la batalla de Lepanto y perdi�� el uso de su mano izquierda (convirti��ndose en ���el manco de Lepanto���) en 1751. Unos a��os m��s tarde el gale��n en el que viajaba fue capturado por unos piratas y lo tuvieron de esclavo en Argel. Intent�� escapar sin ��xito pero su familia consigui�� pagar el rescate en 1580.

Cervantes se mud�� a Madrid y tuvo una aventura con Ana De Villafranca. La pareja tuvo una hija, Isabel de Saavedra. En 1584 se cas�� con Catalina de Palacios y empez�� a escribir obras de teatro y poes��as, incluyendo La Galatea (1585) su primera obra publicada (un romance pastoral en verso y prosa). Como sus escritos no le daban muchos ingresos consigui�� un trabajo con el gobierno, de cobrador de impuestos para la Armada Espa��ola. Debido a las deudas estuvo en la c��rcel m��s de una vez.

English: Don Quixote in the monument to Miguel de Cervantes in Madrid. Espa��ol: Don Quijote en el monumento a Miguel de Cervantes en Madrid. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

En 1604, Cervantes, su mujer e hija viv��an en Valladolid, pero despu��s de publicar Don Quijote se mudaron a Madrid. Novelas Ejemplares vieron la publicaci��n en 1613, y os las recomiendo encarecidamente. La segunda parte de Don Quijote fue publicada en 1615 y el a��o siguiente public�� Persiles y Segismunda. Cervantes muri�� en 1616 y est�� enterrado en el convento de los Trinitarios de Madrid.

Enlaces:

http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/bib/bib_autor/Cervantes/

Biblioteca virtual de las obras de Cervantes

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes

Cervantes en Wikipedia.

http://www.los-poetas.com/d/biocerva.htm

http://literatura.about.com/od/Escritoresporapellido/p/Miguel-De-Cervantes.htm

En about.com Literatura

http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/c/cervantes.htm

En biograf��as y vidas

http://www.proverbia.net/citasautor.asp?autor=188

Citas de Cervantes

Enlaces a sus obras (gratuitos pero no en Espa��a):

Don Quijote

http://www.amazon.com//dp/B004UIY0F4/

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006CA66F0/

Encontr�� dos enlaces���

Novelas y teatro

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UIUUGW/

Viaje al Parnaso, La Numancia, y El trato de Argel

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UIU2E2/

Si os apetece leer sus obras en otros idiomas, est�� por supuesto en ingl��s, alem��n, franc��s���y estoy segura de que en muchas otras lenguas.

Gracias por leer, y si os ha gustado no os olvid��is de compartir y dejar comentario.

Related articles

Gustave Dor��’s Don Quixote (biblioklept.org)

Como os dije entonces, gracias a todos por leer, y ya sab��is, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y no os olvid��is de darme sugerencias sobre autores y obras. ��Y de hacer CLIC! ��Que es gratis!

Revisiting guest classic authors. Any suggestions for future guests?

Hi all:

As those of you who’ve been following me for a while will remember, recently I revisited my first post. I’ve also been thinking of some of the posts that I (and you, my readers) have enjoyed since I started blogging, and I’ve realised I really enjoyed the posts I created about authors that have become classics. I’m thinking of trying to feature one of those posts at regular intervals (if I can fit them in, once a month) and thought we could revisit some of the good oldies back first to kick it off.

This is the first classic I brought you almost two years ago, Herman Melville. (The original post follows)

I usually have a guest post on Fridays. Today isn���t going to be an exception. Only instead of bringing you one of the new writers I���ve met, I thought I���d bring you a dead author. He���s surely dead, but I didn���t think that should prevent me from having him as a guest. After all zombies and vampires are all the rage these days and they���re dead too so���

I���ve been corresponding with a friend and fellow author, Mary Meddlemore and talking about reading and classics. And as I love Melville, I thought, why not? There���s also the advantage that many of his works can be downloaded for free, so it���s a win-win situation.

I have a BA in American Literature and I must say that although I knew of Melville I became more familiar with him when I was studying for my degree. I read Moby Dick several times. I must admit it���s a bit of a peculiar read (and fairly long), but I fell truly in love with it. It is ambitious, wandering, deep, funny, moving, dramatic, elegiac, philosophical, adventurous, scholarly, and bigger than life. Good candidate to the ever sought after title of The Great American Novel. Its opening lines: ���Call me Ishmael.��� are well known and as good first lines as I���ve ever read. Simple but���

I post you links to detailed biographies of Melville.

Link to Virginia Education biography on Herman Melville. Great page.

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/bb/hm_bio.html

Another fabulous page on Herman Melville and his later recognition

http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/nature/

A brief summary: He was born in New York in August 1, 1819 and died in September 28, 1891, forgotten by most, to the point where his obituary listed him as ���Henry��� Melville. He travelled the South Seas, he became known for his adventure/exotic novels (Typee, Omoo) but later deviated onto more serious writing and never quite recovered the popularity of his youth. Moby Dick (or The Whale as it was initially published) is his best known work and masterpiece, although he carried on writing, with less and less success, to the point that he stopped publishing, worked as a customs inspector in New York, and some of his works, like Billy Budd were published posthumously.

Why do I like him so much? I feel he was ahead of his time. He reminds me of the modernists (if somebody can remind you of people who came after him) and works like ���Bartleby the Scrivener��� (that I can���t recommend enough) and ���The Confidence Man��� are truly unique and out of keeping with the writing of his era. He didn���t shy away of asking the big questions, even when that meant loss of popularity. He pursued his poetry and his fiction beyond market and readers. Like his greatest character, Captain Ahab, he never gave up despite the hopelessness of his pursuit.

I thought I���d share one of the many passages I love in Moby Dick. This is from chapter 132 ���The Symphony��� where Ahab is talking to his first mate, Starbuck (if you wondered about the name of the coffee chain…) about his life to that point. It���s a rare moment of self-disclosure that shows that indeed Ahab has his ���humanities���.

“Oh, Starbuck! it is a mild, mild wind, and a mild looking sky. On such a day- very much such a sweetness as this- I struck my first whale- a boy-harpooneer of eighteen! Forty- forty- forty years ago!- ago! Forty years of continual whaling! forty years of privation, and peril, and storm-time! forty years on the pitiless sea! for forty years has Ahab forsaken the peaceful land, for forty years to make war on the horrors of the deep! Aye and yes, Starbuck, out of those forty years I have not spent three ashore. When I think of this life I have led; the desolation of solitude it has been; the masoned, walled-town of a Captain’s exclusiveness, which admits but small entrance to any sympathy from the green country without- oh, weariness! heaviness! Guinea-coast slavery of solitary command!- when I think of all this; only half-suspected, not so keenly known to me before- and how for forty years I have fed upon dry salted fare- fit emblem of the dry nourishment of my soul!- when the poorest landsman has had fresh fruit to his daily hand, and broken the world’s fresh bread to my mouldy crusts- away, whole oceans away, from that young girl-wife I wedded past fifty, and sailed for Cape Horn the next day, leaving but one dent in my marriage pillow- wife? wife?- rather a widow with her husband alive? Aye, I widowed that poor girl when I married her, Starbuck; and then, the madness, the frenzy, the boiling blood and the smoking brow, with which, for a thousand lowerings old Ahab has furiously, foamingly chased his prey- more a demon than a man!- aye, aye! what a forty years’ fool- fool- old fool, has old Ahab been! Why this strife of the chase? why weary, and palsy the arm at the oar, and the iron, and the lance? how the richer or better is Ahab now? Behold. Oh, Starbuck! is it not hard, that with this weary load I bear, one poor leg should have been snatched from under me? Here, brush this old hair aside; it blinds me, that I seem to weep. Locks so grey did never grow but from out some ashes! But do I look very old, so very, very old, Starbuck? I feel deadly faint, bowed, and humped, as though I were Adam, staggering beneath the piled centuries since Paradise. God! God! God!- crack my heart!- stave my brain!- mockery! mockery! bitter, biting mockery of grey hairs, have I lived enough joy to wear ye; and seem and feel thus intolerably old? Close! stand close to me, Starbuck; let me look into a human eye; it is better than to gaze into sea or sky; better than to gaze upon God. By the green land; by the bright hearthstone! this is the magic glass, man; I see my wife and my child in thine eye. No, no; stay on board, on board!- lower not when I do; when branded Ahab gives chase to Moby Dick. That hazard shall not be thine. No, no! not with the far away home I see in that eye!”

I hope you���ve enjoyed it and if you want to read more, here is the link to one of the free digital versions of the novel. There are more:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moby-Dick-White-Whale-ebook/dp/B004TRXX7C/

Check ���Bartleby the Scrivener��� on line. You won���t regret it:

http://www.bartleby.com/129/

And a link to Melville organisation, for all things Melville:

http://melville.org/

Thanks for reading and don���t forget to CLICK! (They’re all free!) And SHARE

Related articles

BBC Produces Film on Seafarer that Inspired Moby Dick (booksnreview.com)
BBC start work on Moby Dick film The Whale, but there’s no Ahab in sight (telegraph.co.uk)

Of course, as I said then, thanks for reading, like, share, comment, and I’m interested in hearing suggestions as to classics (either authors or books) you’d be interested in seeing here. I try and go for the ones where there is a fair amount of material and links to free work but that’s not an exclusion criteria and I’m planning on some that might not quite fit there…Keep reading and clicking!

Writer’s Quote Wednesday. 25th February 2015. Final lines.

Writer’s quote Wednesday. Thanks to Silver Threadings

Hi all:

I don’t know you, but I admire those who can be consistent and also get people to join in projects that inspire and cheer people up. I’ve been following the blogging adventures of Colleen Cheesebro of Silver Threadings for a while and wanted to join in one of her regular blogging features. As I love quotes (and because it isn’t technically very demanding) and at Colleen’s suggestion, I’ve been trying to join in her Writer’s Quote Wednesday. You can visit her blog in the link and join in by posting during the following week and Colleen will find you and post your quote together with many wonderful others. It’s always one of the high points of the blogging week, so…don’t miss it!.

And to today’s quote. After thinking about a variety of possible ��quotes I got thinking about movies, and then, somehow of final lines. And this one was my first choice.

Nobody is perfect! From ‘Some Like it Hot’ Dir: Billy Wilder

I love ‘Some Like It Hot‘. From the title, to the cast, the slapstick, the quick and witty dialogues…Just in case you’re not familiar with it you can check the link to IMDB above, but in brief, this film directed by Billy Wilder is the story of two musicians (played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago. Trying to escape their demise at the hands of the mob they find a job in a touring orchestra… Only it’s a female orchestra and that means our two friends spend a big part of the movie in drag (Tony Curtis is quite cute, Jack…). As a bonus, Marilyn Monroe is the singer of the orchestra. Love isn’t far for our friends and the ending is…

Here I leave you two links, so you can choose depending on how long you have, one to the short version of the ending (the ending proper) and one to a slightly longer version where you can see Marilyn too and a fair bit of running around. You choose!

Short:



Longer:

 

In the discussions in You Tube some people wondered if audiences today would still find it funny. I surely hope so. ��And as somebody said in one of the comments, Billy Wilder’s endings are all worth quoting, so there might be more to come.

Thanks to Colleen from Silver Threadings for the invitation, thanks to you for reading and watching, and if you’ve enjoyed it, think about taking part (is fun!), like, share, comment and be happy! Because, nobody is perfect!

‘Gemela Maldad’. Revisado y mejorado. Y con nueva portada.

Hola a todos:

��ltimamente me ha dado por repasar las cosas que he hecho y los libros que he publicado. Aunque m��s recientemente he publicado libros que he escrito hace poco, cuando empec�� a publicar lo hice por libros que hac��a tiempo que hab��a escrito y estaban guardaditos en el caj��n. A��n me quedan unos cuantos esperando a ser desenterrados (o a convertirse en zombies, qui��n sabe) pero ya veremos.

A cambio de una traducci��n (que me est�� encantando, pero como no est�� acabada no os digo m��s), Paloma Caral accedi�� a revisar mis dos primeras novelas en espa��ol, ‘El hombre que nunca existi��’ (en la que sigue trabajando) y ‘Gemela Maldad‘. Hace poco Paloma me entreg�� la versi��n corregida de Gemela Maldad, y aprovech�� para crear una portada nueva y publicar la versi��n mejorada.

Paloma Caral correcciones

Y ya que menciono a Paloma Caral, si os interesa informaros sobre sus servicios de correcci��n, lo pod��is hacer aqu��. Porque como ella dice:��Solo existe una vez para una primera impresi��n.

Aprovechando la oportunidad, y ya que hace bastante de la publicaci��n inicial, pens�� aprovechar la ocasi��n para recordaros estas novela corta juvenil y compartir el principio por si os apetece.

Gemela Maldad de Olga N����ez Miret

��rase una vez un par de gemelos, un chico y una chica. Rut era rubia, ojos azules, de piel muy blanca y muy buena. Max ten��a el pelo negro como el carb��n, los ojos grises, y era hura��o y malo. Su vecina de al lado y compa��era de fatigas, Hilda, intentaba ser amiga de los dos, pero no era f��cil. Los dos hermanos no se pod��an ver y ella siempre se encontraba en medio de sus peleas intentando mantener la paz. Max opinaba que su hermana era una pesada y aburrida, imposiblemente perfecta, y Rut no pod��a soportar las travesuras de su hermano y su p��simo comportamiento. Le ten��a miedo. Rut era demasiado perfecta e inocente, como una ni��a peque��a, para poder sobrevivir en el mundo real, tanto que Hilda sospechaba que alg��n problema hab��a, pero no sab��a cual. ��Era Rut el ��ngel que todo el mundo cre��a? ��Estaba enferma? ��Por qu�� no se comportaba como una chica de su edad? Cuando los dos gemelos empezaron a hablar del destino y a decir que ���algo��� iba a ocurrir Hilda se preocup��. ��Qu�� pod��a hacer? Y desgraciadamente “algo” ocurri��.

���Gemela Maldad��� es una novela corta juvenil (aproximadamente 55 p��ginas) que empieza como un cuento de hadas, trata de amistades que sobreviven a todos los contratiempos, de tragedia, romance, y tambi��n tiene un toque de fantas��a/paranormal. Con una historia que engancha, buen ritmo, y unos personajes misteriosos, intrigantes y entra��ables os har�� pensar. Si ten��is mucha imaginaci��n y os gustan las lecturas compactas y gratificantes, ��por qu�� no la prob��is?

Y aqu�� la muestra:

La amiga de Hilda, Rut, era la chica m��s bonita y encantadora de la peque��a ciudad donde viv��an. Su pelo rubio era brillante y fino como la seda, sus ojos azules como zafiros, su boca roja como el coral. Si hubiera vivido en una ��poca diferente los juglares le habr��an dedicado sus canciones. Rut era el orgullo y deleite de Yorktown. Y era lista, y generosa, y amable. Lo ten��a todo.

Rut tambi��n ten��a un hermano. Max era su gemelo, pero casi nadie habr��a adivinado que estaban emparentados. ��l era muy alto y delgado, su pelo espeso, rizado y negro como el carb��n, sus ojos grises como la pizarra, sus labios eran delgados y su boca casi nunca sonre��a. ��l era la oveja negra de la familia, y a Rut y a ��l la gente les llamaba ��el ��ngel y el demonio��.

Hilda los conoc��a a los dos de toda la vida. Eran de la misma edad y, de hecho, sus familias se conoc��an desde antes de que ellos nacieran. Sus padres sol��an salir en citas dobles y se casaron en una boda conjunta. Viv��an en casas contiguas y era como si todos fueran miembros de la misma familia. Hilda siempre hab��a cre��do que era su obligaci��n ser la amiga de Rut y Max. La tarea hab��a sido muy f��cil con Hilda, que era amiga de todo el mundo, pero Max nunca hab��a sido un chico f��cil de querer. Cuando jugaban juntos de ni��os, ��l torturaba a los animales, a los insectos, se peleaba con otros ni��os. Rut siempre hab��a intentado alejarse de ��l y de evitarle, ya que no soportaba ning��n tipo de violencia, pero Hilda no era nada delicada y Max siempre hab��a asumido que Hilda estaba de acuerdo con lo que ��l hac��a. Le hab��a dicho muchas veces que no le gustaba su comportamiento, pero ��l insist��a en que sus palabras eran solo una pose. Max siempre era tan desagradable como pod��a con su hermana. Pon��a animales muertos en su cama, gusanos en su comida, le arruinaba los vestidos. Una vez, Hilda detuvo a Max cuando estaba a punto de prenderle fuego al pelo de su hermana mientras dorm��a. Rut se despert�� con la discusi��n y le peg�� un bofet��n cuando se enter�� de lo que estuvo a punto de hacer, pero ��l solo se rio. Ni amenazas de Rut, ni advertencias de sus padres, ni castigos de sus profesores obten��an resultados, ya que a ��l no le importaban.

El verano del diecisiete cumplea��os de los gemelos, Max le hab��a dado un descanso a todo el mundo y hab��a decidido irse de acampada con otros j��venes. Las dos familias hab��an tenido un par de semanas de paz y hab��an estado preparando la fiesta de cumplea��os de los dos, tranquilos y en perfecta calma.

�����Hilda! ��Hilda!

�����Oh, no, ha vuelto! ���murmur�� Esteban, el padre de Hilda.

�����Hilda!

���Ve a ver qu�� quiere antes de que acabemos todos sordos o locos ���le orden�� su madre, Mandy.

���Vale, vale. Ya voy.

�����Hilda!

Hilda sali�� al jard��n sinti��ndose como una m��rtir. ��La de sacrificios que ten��a que hacer para mantener la paz! Max estaba agitado, corriendo por todo el jard��n. Abri�� la boca y empez�� a decir:

��� ��Hil���! ��Ah, est��s aqu��!

���S��, Max, aqu�� estoy. ��Siempre tienes que ser tan ruidoso?

�����C��llate! Quiero ense��arte algo.

Max agarr�� a Hilda del brazo y la arrastr�� por encima de la peque��a valla que separaba los jardines.

���Ten cuidado, ��no?

���Perdona. Ven, deprisa.

Hilda y Max entraron en su casa a trav��s de la puerta del sal��n que daba al jard��n. Hilda salud�� a la madre de Max, Eleonor, y a su padre, Patrick. Rut estaba sentada en su habitaci��n con la puerta abierta.

�����Ah, Rut! ��C��mo���?

Max empuj�� a Hilda hacia su cuarto.

���No le hables. No has venido aqu�� para hablar con ella, has venido a ver algo.

�����Cu��ndo vas a crecer de una vez, Max? Sabes que tambi��n soy amiga de tu hermana y���

���Para, por favor, mira.

Max encendi�� la luz. Su habitaci��n estaba pintada de negro, las paredes y el techo, con extra��as inscripciones cabal��sticas y dibujos diab��licos. All�� siempre estaba oscuro. Se quit�� la camiseta y le ense���� la espalda a Hilda.

�����Qu�� te parece?

Hilda se qued�� sin habla. Era un tatuaje incre��ble. Un ��guila negra, con las alas extendidas, atacando a una paloma blanca. El pico del ��guila goteaba sangre y el color rojo del tatuaje era muy intenso y vivo, parec��a latir. La paloma ten��a los ojos azules y llevaba una espiga de trigo en el pico. Los ojos del ��guila eran grises y las alas brillaban iridiscentes. Era un tatuaje extremadamente v��vido. Y su significado estaba tan claro que Hilda no lo pod��a ignorar. Max siempre llamaba a Rut ��paloma blanca��. A menudo le cantaba la canci��n. Era horrible.

�����Por qu�� lo has hecho, Max?

���Hab��a un t��o muy bueno haciendo tatuajes muy cerca de donde acampamos. Es un dise��o propio.

���Ya me hab��a dado cuenta.

�����Por qu�� no te gusta? ��No te parece bueno?

���Es bueno, incre��blemente bueno, pero ��qu�� significa?

�����Qu�� significa? Nada. Es solo un tatuaje.

Max intent�� usar su cara m��s inocente, pero no le surg��a de forma natural. No convenc��a a nadie.

���No me gusta la simbolog��a ���dijo Rut.

�����Simbolog��a��. ��Qu�� palabra m��s bella! Me encanta como hablas, como un libro.

���Adi��s, Max.

Rut le dio la espalda y se dirigi�� hacia la puerta.

�����Espera, espera! ��Me he hecho otro tatuaje!

���Si es como este, preferir��a no verlo, gracias.

���Es muy diferente. Adivina d��nde est��.

Aqu�� el enlace en Amazon (de momento disponible en Unlimited, pero no por mucho tiempo):

http://bit.ly/1yFIF35

Gracias por leer, y ya sab��is, si os ha interesado, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid y haced CLIC!��

‘Twin Evils?’ Revisiting old friends

Hi all:

I’ve been in a somewhat nostalgic mood and have been looking back at some of my early posts and writings. Although more recently I’ve been publishing books that I have written not so long ago, to begin with I started by publishing books that I’d written over the years but had been ‘for my eyes only’ until then. I still have some that I haven’t decided what to do with and a pile of unfinished stories that I must go over again, but…

In exchange for the translation of one of her novels (and I’m enjoying the job enormously, but I’ll tell you more when all is finished), Paloma Caral has revised two of my early works in Spanish ‘The Man Who Never Was’ and ‘Twin Evils?’. She’s still hard at work with ‘The Man…’ but finished ‘Twin Evils?’ (that I’ve called ‘Gemela Maldad’ in Spanish) and now I have a new sparkling version of the novel in Spanish. As I also created new covers to go with it, I thought just in case some of my more recent readers don’t know anything about the novella, I could tell you a bit about it.

Twin Evils? by Olga N����ez Miret

Once upon a time there was a pair of twins, a girl and boy. Ruth was blonde, blue eyes, very fair and really good. Max was dark haired, grey eyes, broody and bad. Their next door neighbour and pal, Hilda, tried to be friends with both but it was not an easy task. They didn���t like each other and she found herself in the middle trying to keep the peace. Max found his sister impossibly perfect and tiresome, and Ruth could not stand her brother���s bad boy attitude and his horrible behaviour. She was scared of him. Ruth was too perfect and child-like for the real world and Hilda suspected something was wrong but didn���t know what. Was she the angel everybody took her for? Was she ill?�� When both twins started talking about fate and said that ���something��� would happen she worried. What could she do? ���Twin Evils?��� is a New Adult novella (under 60 pages) that begins like a fairy tale, talks about friendship against all odds, tragedy, romance, and has a touch of the paranormal. Fast paced and entertaining with intriguing, mysterious and ultimately lovable characters it will make you feel good but leave you wondering. If you have plenty of imagination and love a compact and fulfilling read, try it out!

And as a sample, I leave you the beginning of the novella:

Hilda���s friend, Ruth, was the prettiest and loveliest girl in town. Her blond hair was fine and silky, her eyes blue like sapphires, her mouth red like coral. She would have been chanted by the poets of old if she���d lived in a different time. Ruth was the pride and darling of Yorktown. And she was clever enough, and generous and kind. She had it all.

Ruth had a brother too. Max was her twin, but hardly anybody would have guessed that they were related. He was very tall and thin, his hair was thick, curly and black like coal, his eyes grey like slate, and his mouth had thin lips that hardly ever smiled. He was the black sheep of the family, and Ruth and him were known as ���the angel and the devil��� by the population.

Hilda had known them both all her life. They were the same age, and, in fact, their families were friendly before they were even born. Their parents used to go out on double dates and they got married on a double wedding. They lived in contiguous houses and it was as if they were all members of the same family. Hilda had always felt that it was her duty to befriend Ruth and Max. The task had been very easy with Ruth, she was friendly with everybody, but Max wasn���t an easy boy. As a child, when they played together, he used to torture animals, insects, fight with other children���Ruth always shied away from him, she couldn���t bear any type of violence, but Hilda wasn���t squeamish, and Max had always assumed that Hilda approved of what he did. She told him many times that she didn���t like his behaviour but he insisted that her words were only a pose. Max was always as nasty as he could be towards his sister. He put dead animals in her bed, maggots in her food, ruined her dresses���Once Hilda stopped him when he was about to set his sleeping sister���s hair on fire. Ruth woke up with the discussion and slapped him when she heard what he was about to do, but he only laughed. No threats from Ruth, no warnings from his parents, no punishment from his teachers made any difference to him.

The summer of the twins��� seventeenth birthday, Max had given everybody a break by deciding to go camping with some other youngsters. They had had two weeks of peace, and the two families had been preparing the twins��� birthday party at ease, in perfect tranquillity.

���Hilda! Hilda!���

���Oh no, he���s back��� Hilda���s father, Steph, mumbled under his breath.

���Hilda!���

���Go to see what he wants, before we all end up deaf or mad.��� Mandy, Hilda���s mother, ordered.

���All right, all right. I���ll go.���

���Hilda!���

Hilda marched into the garden feeling like a martyr. The sacrifices she had to make to keep the peace! Max was restlessly running up and down his garden. He opened his mouth and began:

���Hi���Oh, you are here.���

���Yes, Max. Here I am. Do you always have to be so noisy?���

���Shut up! I must show you something.��� He grabbed Hilda by the arm and dragged her over the fence.

���Be careful, will you?���

���Sorry. Come, quick.���

Hilda and Max entered the house through the back door of the lounge, opening into the garden. Hilda said hello in passing to Max���s mother, Eleanor, and his father, Patrick. Ruth was sitting in her room, with the door open.

���Oh Ruth, how���?���

Max pushed Hilda into his room.

���Don���t talk to her. You aren���t here to talk to her. You���ve come to see something.���

���When will you grow up, Max? I���m your sister���s friend too, and������

���Stop it, please. Look������

Max switched the lights on. His room was painted in black, walls and ceiling, with strange cabalistic inscriptions and devilish drawings. It was always dark inside. Once he made light, he took his T-shirt off and showed Hilda his back.

���What do you think?���

Hilda was speechless. It was an incredible tattoo. A black eagle, with spread wings, attacking a white dove. The eagle���s beak was dripping blood, and the red colour of the tattoo was very intense, quasi pulsating. The dove had blue eyes and was carrying a branch of wheat. The eagle���s eyes were grey and the wings looked shiny and iridescent. It was an extremely vivid tattoo. And the meaning was too clear for Hilda to be able to ignore it. Max always called Ruth ���the white dove���. It was horrible.

���Why did you do that, Max?���

���There was a guy incredibly good with tattoos nearby. It���s my own design.���

���I���ve noticed that.���

���Why don���t you like it? Isn���t it good?���

���It���s good. Real good. But, what does it mean?���

���Mean?���Nothing. It���s only a tattoo.���

Max tried his most innocent expression, but it didn���t come natural to him. Not convincing at all.

���I don���t like the imagery.��� Ruth said.

���Imagery. Lovely word. I love how you talk, like a book.���

���Bye Max.���

Ruth turned her back on Max and stepped toward the door.

���Wait, wait! I have another tattoo!���

���If it���s like this one I���d rather not see it, thank you.���

���Oh no, it���s very different. Guess where it is.���

Ruth had stopped and turned to look at Max, but shook her head and carried walking.

���I���m not interested in games, Max. I have things to do.���

Max ran to the door to prevent Hilda from leaving.

���Come on���I���ve been away for two weeks and you haven���t even asked me how it was or how I am, or nothing. I���ve missed you, you know? And you don���t even care enough to ask.��� He whined.

���You haven���t asked me either. You only came shouting������

���OK, I���m sorry. I just had to show it to someone or I would have exploded. I haven���t showed it to anybody.���

���Is it a surprise then?���

���Yes, yes. You won���t tell, will you?���

Max and his secrets. Hilda had been selected as his official confidant many years back and she had never managed to get rid of the privilege. Although, Max never quite confessed everything. He always kept something to himself. That made things slightly easier for Hilda. Sometimes. Sometimes it made them worse.

���You���ll have to show your parents. They���ll find out.���

���I will, soon���But keep it quiet in the meantime, OK?���

���Fine.���

���Now, guess where I have the other tattoo.���

Here the link in Amazon. At the moment is available in Unlimited too but that might changes shortly…

http://bit.ly/1xSh8tU

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it, like, share, comment and CLICK!

��Os gustan los libros en audio? Venid a escuchar la selecci��n de libros de Mario Escobar

Hola a todos:

Como recordar��is, despu��s de hablar un poco sobre los libros en audio, decid�� dedicarles un post al mes, as�� que hoy os traigo los audiolibros de un autor conocido, querido y prol��fico, que nos hab��a visitado con una de sus novedades, y que adem��s publica sus audios usando sonolibro que yo no conoc��a, as�� que me pareci�� una buena ocasi��n para explorar otras opciones, tanto para lectores (y oyentes) como para escritores. Esta la definici��n que ofrece Sonolibro de lo que es:

Los sonolibros son dramatizaciones en audio, con actores, efectos de sonido y m��sica. Recreamos libros, relatos e historias para que puedas disfrutar de una experiencia inmersiva, alejada de los tradicionales audiolibros. ���

Para m��s informaci��n (incluyendo un video):

http://www.sonolibro.com/pages/que-es-sonolibro#sthash.6sjwTGX4.dpuf

Autor Mario Escobar

El autor es nuestro buen amigo Mario Escobar.

Licenciado en Historia y Diplomado en Estudios Avanzados en la especialidad de Historia Moderna, ha escrito numerosos art��culos y libros sobre la Inquisici��n, la Reforma Protestante y las sectas religiosas. Trabaja como director ejecutivo de una ONG y es director de la revista Nueva Historia para el Debate, colaborando como columnista en distintas publicaciones.

Apasionado por la historia y sus enigmas ha estudiado en produndidad la HIstoria de la Iglesia, los distintos grupos sectarios que han luchado en su seno, el descubrimiento y colonizaci��n de Am��rica; especializ��ndose en la vida de personajes heterodoxos espa��oles y americanos.

http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/autor/mario-escobar#sthash.D4VCZDhQ.dpuf

En esta p��gina pod��is encontrar sus libros en audio. Como muestra decid�� dejaros unos cuantos (y hablando de muestras, la p��gina de sonolibro os da la opci��n de escuchar una muestra para que os anim��is).

El Secreto de los Assassini de Mario Escobar

EL SECRETO DE LOS ASSASSINI

Las aventuras de este trio son perfectas para escucharlas en un audiolibro dramatizado en espa��ol. El secreto de los assassini es un���thriller��� que nos entretendr�� mientras realizamos un viaje largo, o por las tardes paseando, o mientras se realizan labores autom��ticas.

H��rcules Guzm��n Fox, George Lincoln y Alicia Mantorella van a ver interrumpido su viaje de placer. Al salvar a Yamil�� de sus perseguidores, se van a ver involucrados en una aventura que jam��s podr��an haber imaginado. Los acontecimientos les llevar��n desde el caudaloso Nilo y los desiertos de Egipto, hasta Turqu��a y Grecia; y todo ello con el trasfondo de un conflicto b��lico, del que no saben si podr��n salir indemnes.

En este sonolibro* sabremos c��mo H��rcules, en un acto de generosidad, va a ser capaz de renunciar a lo que m��s quiere.

* Sonolibro: audiolibro en espa��ol dramatizado con distintas voces para cada personaje, m��sica y efectos sonoros, que proporciona al oyente una incre��ble experiencia inmersiva.

http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/mario-escobar/el-secreto-de-los-assassini#sthash.c46RrPCb.dpuf

El mes��as ario de Mario Escobar

EL MESIAS ARIO

A medio camino entre la novela de aventuras cl��sica y el thriller m��s contempor��neos, esta novela hist��rica nos lleva, a trav��s de tres argumentos�� que van apareciendo como salidos de una mu��eca rusa,�� a una endiablada b��squeda llena de enigmas, persecuciones y giros. Pasaremos por�� por Madrid, Lisboa, Colonia, Viena, Sarajevo y Munich, hasta llegar a una conclusi��n electrizante.

Madrid, verano de 1914. Varios profesores se han automutilado en la Biblioteca Nacional y dos agentes, H��rcules Guzm��n Fox y George Lincoln, tienen que averiguar por qu�� lo han hecho. Todo parecer tener relaci��n con un enigm��tico libro tra��do a Europa por Vasco de Gama en su primer viaje a la India. Los agentes deber��n emprender una vertiginosa carrera que los lleva de una clave a otra, descifrando mensajes ocultos durante siglos. Un rompecabezas que deber�� resolverse antes de que Europa entre en guerra y las profec��as se cumplan.

http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/mario-escobar/el-mesias-ario#sthash.7bI16e70.dpuf

La conspiraci��n del Maine de Mario Escobar

LA CONSPIRACION DEL “MAINE”

Alguien escuch�� esta conversaci��n entre dos importantes pol��ticos estadounidenses a finales de 1898:

– Estados Unidos necesita Cuba. No me interesa c��mo, pero h��galo, general.

–�� Lo tenemos todo planeado se��or. Podemos mandar un acorazado a La Habana, hundirlo nosotros mismos y echarles la culpa los espa��oles; tendremos la excusa perfecta para declararles la guerra.

–�� Pero la guerra …

–�� No se preocupe, se��or; no tienen absolutamente nada que hacer

Un�� thriller de ritmo trepidante, lleno de secretos oficiales, conspiraciones y luchas de poder, que nos lleva desde los bajos fondos de La Habana a los elegantes salones de Washington.�� Esta obra dramatizada por los actores, con un ritmo fren��tico, transporta al lector hasta la conspiraci��n sin resolver que marc�� la historia de Espa��a y del mundo.

http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/mario-escobar/la-conspiracion-del-maine#sthash.HwIk00b1.dpuf

Apocalipsis de Mario Escobar

Apocalipsis. Saga Completa

La crimin��loga Priscila Serrano es una joven agente del FBI, que se especializa en perseguir asesinos ritualistas.. Cuando empiezan a morir sacerdotes en la ciudad de Miami, su jefa le asigna el caso.�� Fuerzas sobrenaturales parecen controlar al asesino y���.

Aparecen los cad��veres de varias chicas j��venes en Nueva Orleans y en el lugar del crimen hay signos de ceremonias de vud��, el FBI env��a a Priscila a la ciudad. Las chicas eran v��rgenes y ������

Un anciano religioso sospecha que el nuevo arzobispo de su di��cesis podr��a estar involucrado en unas muertes extra��as a las que rodea un halo sobrenatural. Priscila conoce al arzobispo y ���.

Una de las becarias que acompa��an al nuevo candidato republicano a la presidencia de los Estados Unidos hace una llamada desesperada a Priscila Serrano, dici��ndole que ha notado un misterioso comportamiento en el candidato, y ���.

Interpretado por: Jose D. – Nilo

http://www.sonolibro.com/audiolibros/mario-escobar/apocalipsis-saga-completa#sthash.WlM38fQM.dpuf

Apocalipsis tambi��n est�� disponible por partes y pod��is acceder a ellas en la p��gina del autor.

Gracias a Mario Escobar por traernos sus audios, gracias a todos vosotros por leer, y ya sab��is, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y haced CLIC!