Bruno Blog

Now that the sun and the good weather seem to be coming back, I am glad to speak about a new author in the agency, Diana Pardo, who arrives to our bookstores by the hand of Titania, with ABRIL DESCUBRE EL MAR Y LOS HELADOS DE FRESA in the romantic genre (in which she has already left her mark with her “trilogía del Sofa”). I devoured this novel in a weekend, because it’s addictive and because I always liked love stories, regardless of the format. This novel made me feel the butterflies in my stomach like at the beginning of a new relationship. One day, Abril, in her forties and with the full pack: married, with a child and bank debts, wakes up to hear her husband say he has accepted a new job in Miami where he has met a new dream with the name of a woman. Abril is in shock, but her best, wild friends, Maura and Susana, will help her overcome the pain after 20 years of marriage and will encourage her to fall back in love, even though Abril no longer believes in love or her appeal. That is why, when she meets Oscar, a wonderful and attractive personal coach, twelve years younger than her, she can’t even fathom someone like him falling for her, teaching her to live through gratitude and making her open her heart while awakening her high voltage sexual appetite. Even in her wildest dreams, Abril wouldn’t have imagined recovering love in capital letters with someone like Oscar. Even Pedro, her husband, will be gobsmacked once he realizes he made a mistake and expresses his wish to go back home. What will Abril do? Will she go for Oscar and this uncontrollable love, or will she forgive Pedro, who promises to bring back what they lost? A well-written, fresh and intense story which will make the fans of Elisabeth Benavent and Megan Maxwell fall in love. A perfect mix for lovers of love stories. It’s an ideal read to get ready for the summer.

Some time ago I decided to surround myself with people with a positive energy. Those who always smile, see the bottle full, with a positive vibe. As Marian Rojas would say, vitamin people. I try to be one, as I believe that someone who helps others also helps themselves. These people, with endless positive energy, who don not complain even with the worst disasters and solve, act, and keep dreaming. I always wonder if they have a secret and Xenia Vives with her book TENER SUERTE EN LA VIDA DEPENDE DE TI, published in Catalan by Editorial Columna and in Spanish by Aguilar provides the answer: they are people whose well-being does not depend on others or on external elements. They know that being lucky depends on them and they follow the philosophy HAPPY GO LUCKY.

Xenia explains in an easy and effective way, with humor and practical advice, how to live your life following this philosophy and succeed at:

• Attracting fortune with a positive and relaxed attitude.
• Being satisfied with your life, making the most of the opportunities.
• Not depending on the external circumstances, other people’s opinions, or absurd compromises.
• Freeing yourself from toxic thoughts. You will stop overthinking circular ideas that do not lead anywhere.
• Understanding that only 10% of the luck in life depends on what happens. The other 90% depends on what you make of it.
• Getting rid of bad emotional habits to become a Happy-Go-Lucky person.

If none of these six elements appeal to you, it is clear you do not need this book. But if you wish for at least one, it is worth knowing Xenia’s methodology and to join the HAPPY GO LUCKY philosophy. Only with more happy people we will make “fortune” reign in this complex world which can become easier to manage if one knows how to. Do you dare to read it? You lose nothing and gain a lot. Namaste Xenia.

According to the World Health Organization, every 40 seconds someone commits suicide in the world. This headline struck me, but what made me reflect was the fact that the highest suicide rate happens in countries with a high income and that it is the second cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 29, after traffic accidents.

It chills me to think about such figures and to conceive so many people wanting to kill themselves and actually doing so. That is why, when Francesc Miralles let me know that he had read in the New York Times that there was a Japanese man who lived in a cabin by rocky mountains where many people came to kill themselves and he offered some tea and a chat in his cabin, I thought that Francesc would be able to make a great story out of that fact. And he committed to writing it, but only with the help of another great name in the agency, Ángeles Doñate, who is outstanding at describing feelings. Thus, here is another wonderful story by this fantastic tandem Miralles-Doñate, who is always successful, who explains in UN TÉ PARA CURAR EL ALMA, published by Zenith editorial, how this man manages, with a chat and some tea, to convince someone to fight for life. Different characters strip before some tea and a main plot guides us to this spot halfway between eerie and magic where the characters’ feelings and the humble advice of someone who lives alone, provide us with a deep story that leaves its mark. Thank you for treating this topic with the necessary warmth and for the advice the reader gets between lines.

A novel which heals the heart and the soul.

With this sentence, Paz Castello makes you think about revenge, wounds, and forgiveness. Do we know the value of forgiveness? Forgiveness is one of the most difficult values to bring into reality. It is a personal decision that requires courage and effort, as it contradicts the discomfort we experience when someone hurts us. Forgiveness may even lead to feelings of understanding, empathy and compassion towards the person who hurt you. Forgiving does not mean forgetting or excusing for the damage that has been done to you or making amends with the person causing it. Forgiveness brings the kind of peace that helps us continue with our lives. Buddhism sees forgiveness as a practice to prevent hurtful thoughts that might unsettle our mental health. Buddhism upholds that feelings of hate and resentment leave a long-lasting effect on our karma. In fact, Buddhism promotes the nurture of thoughts that leave a healthy feeling. The Dalai Lama said: «The essence of Christianity and Buddhism is the same: the practice of love, which requires an emphasis on forgiveness and sharing the suffering of others». But what happens when you cannot forgive?

In Paz Castelló’s novel, published by Ediciones B, NONE OF US WILL HAVE MERCY brings out the moment when someone reaches their limit and can’t keep forgiving.

Paz manages two extraordinary female characters, Camila and Nora, two very different women with something in common: they have been used by men and are now unafraid to confront them. Camila used to be that kind of woman that doesn’t know how strong she is until she tests herself. But her life changes when she decides to leave her husband and receives a favorable divorce agreement. While trying to find out her ex-fiancé’s hidden intentions, she will meet Nora, a young student who has kept a terrible secret for years and will turn her world upside down. The special relationship that is born between them will shake their lives. This is their moment: this time around, they won’t forgive. Life tends to offer a second chance for women like Camila to start over. One day, the cage opens and faces a new dilemma: getting out or staying in.

Beyond the genre called «domestic noir», Paz makes us fall in love with two strong female characters who face extreme situations but come out stronger, and new opportunities arise, which would not have happened without their courage to face the difficulties.

The writer Blas Ruiz Grau said about her: “With this novel, Paz Castelló shows she is one of the best noir writers in our country”. To me, Paz is among the authors in the agency who most deserve this step forward since, after a long career of effort and hard work as a writer, she has brought this novel which is a giant step towards gaining more readers than she already has, and to escalate amongst the most consolidated authors of this genre.

Tomorrow we will enjoy a new day of the book. It will be better than last year, that is for sure, given that in 2020 we were in lockdown, even if it seems fictional. But, unfortunately, this is not a usual Sant Jordi and we won’t be able to experience it as before. I hope it is not long before we recover this normality we miss so much.

I miss the crowded streets, the smiling Barcelona, full of books and roses. A day full of emotion and illusions shared with the authors, editors and with everyone who form the great chain of the book. And to keep it alive, we should encourage people to buy books, but not only during the day of Sant Jordi, but by hooking them to the book forever. When you like a reading, you want another and another one after that. It’s a matter of finding the one that leaves good vibes. This is a positive addiction.

From the Sandra Bruna literary agency, we would like to wish everyone a happy day of the book and to claim that bringing a book to our lives means opening the door to thousands of emotions, stories and new concepts. I could not imagine my life without books and, if you can, it means you have not tried them enough.

This Sant Jordi, let yourself be captivated by books. It’s worth it.

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