Bruno Blog

I have always loved astrology and I used to buy all the books dedicated to this subject, the good ones, and the not so good ones, although I realised that later on. However, meeting Elva Abril has changed the way of seeing astrology, from a more professional point of view. She also helped me understand how astrology can be your best ally to discover the unconscious fears that block your relationships and get the love you deserve. It is, in short, a tool for self-knowledge, although many do not see it this way.

Are you one of those people who read their horoscope to find out which sign you are more in tune with, or if today is going to be the day you will find your soulmate? I know many of you do, and by reading Elva‘s book you will understand that the position of the moon in our birth chart helps us understand how we interact, reveals our childhood wounds and how we experienced our first love: that of our mother (or equivalent person), a model that we will repeat in all our relationships. If you identify and heal your own patterns, you can open the door to good love, to having a healthy and happy relationship.

Elva explains in a very entertaining way that there are twelve lunar patterns, twelve unconscious fears that define how we relate to each other. Becoming aware of them, and of the planets with which they interact, is essential to, if it suits us, change them and access good relationships, in which both members of the couple form a team and therefore their relationship grows from a solid place. With examples of celebrities and explained from scratch, without having to know anything about astrology, you will be able to understand why your relationships never work or why they have worked so well.  It is a book for everyone, because as Elva says: “We all want love, we all want to learn how to improve our relationship with our emotions because in the end life is all about relationships! Starting with the one we have with ourselves”.

A very special book that opens a world that many want to tiptoe around, and in which Elva proves what astrology can bring to our life. The book came out on the 22nd of September and sold out in the pre-sale, so this week we are already on the second edition. It is not just another astrology book, but a tool that helps us with the fears and blocks that we all have in our lives. What are you waiting for to go and get it?

If you want to know more about Los doce códigos del amor.

This week’s post is very special, not only for the agency, but for our readers too. Héctor García and Francesc Miralles are releasing a new book after the success of IKIGAI, which has been translated into 66 languages and of which they have sold more than 2,500,000 copies worldwide. Nobody knew the word IKIGAI, and these two authors explained its meaning and the reason for each one to find their IKIGAI and be happier. The world has thanked them in return, because after seven years they are still selling and this phenomenon is growing steadily in all the countries of the world, including the United States. In that territory we have 11 editions without being American authors. So, as we can see, this tandem does nothing but add up, and this week we start with their new book titled NAMASTE. This word, better known to most of us, means “I bow to you” or “my soul salutes yours”, it is the traditional Hindu greeting and implies the recognition that there is a divine spark in every one of us. From this perspective, the authors propose a path to harmony, awareness and well-being, this time inspired by Indian wisdom. This has been spreading throughout the world for years, just as Japanese wisdom did in its time. Without detracting from each other, as they are not mutually exclusive, but both bring light amid so much shadow.

In less than 20 key concepts, the authors have traced a complete geography of happiness that allows us to leave suffering behind, awaken our creative power and live with health and energy in any phase of life. Namaste is one more tool to help us live fully in a chaotic world where noise and bad news occupy a large part of our daily lives. This book is a path of reconnection with the sacred that you will want to take to build the present you deserve and the future you dream of.  These two authors turn timeless concepts into real and transformative experiences for you, the reader, to understand and apply in life in a healthy and natural way. I am sure that IKIGAI fans will not hesitate for a second to turn to NAMASTE. There are already many of us readers, but I recommend that, if anyone is not yet familiar with these two writers, they should go for both books. They can be the lifesaver we are all looking for to better understand what we are doing here and what we can do is to have hope that we can contribute something and achieve a full life.

Francesc Miralles is my friend, a vital author in the life of my agency, and in my personal life. He has always been by my side, and we have grown up together and we have been at each other’s sides in the publishing world with everything. It is an extraordinary adventure, and a story we will tell one day. Thanks to him I have authors like Héctor García, another ace, who from afar trusts our work, and many other authors who have come from his hand, and who are also leading lights in the genres they cultivate. Francesc not only writes well, but he is a magician in the world of literature, because he recognises a bestseller at a glance, and from an apparently insignificant subject he can make a book that sells millions of copies. This can only be done by him. He deserves recognition for his career, beyond selling books, which he has already achieved. So, I can only say: NAMASTE my friend, thank you for continuing to walk hand in hand with me, never letting go, not even in difficult times, and for believing that this distant horizon that we both see every year that passes, has no end.

Starting the blog season with a book by Maria Barbal is a true privilege. I have already expressed on several occasions my admiration for this author since I read PEDRA DE TARTERA.

Her latest work, TÀNDEM, sold in Italy, Slovenia and Germany, was a pleasant surprise for me as a reader. Despite discovering a different María, the literary quality we are used to remains.
 
This novel, AL LLAC has managed to awaken memories and longings of my own summers. Always with my two siblings, fifteen days at the beach and fifteen days in the mountains with my grandparents. I’m sure I have these idealised memories, but even today when I think about it, my heart is still pounding both with emotion and sadness. Partly because we will never be able to have those summers again, and partly because our children have not been able to experience them. And although they don’t miss them, because theirs were also wonderful, we know that ours were exceptional, and I can undoubtedly say that it was one of the happiest times of my life. The main character of this novel reminds me of myself and my wish to be older, when we should have enjoyed every moment without thinking so much about the future.
 
The novel is set in the 1960s. Nora, a twelve-year-old girl, has the delightful experience of going to the lake on Sundays, a very beautiful and peaceful place with changing colours. She goes with a group of adults and Quim, a seven-year-old boy. They all have their desires, and she observes them, although she doesn’t always understand them. Even so, because of a conflict between the grown-ups and Quim’s audacity, the last morning at the lake Nora will suddenly wake up from her childhood.
 
The story is set in Tremp and in the Sant Antoni reservoir, where the author relives her childhood memories. Within this framework, she explores the confrontation of children with adults and adults with each other in an attempt to capture each one’s affections. According to the author, “people are very complex and it is very difficult to be happy”. And as I get older, I realise that she is absolutely right. This feeling is a constant in María Barbal’s characters, who are not only children, but also two couples and a grandmother. In addition, there is a geographical protagonist: the lake, which also has its own story.
 
A short, intense, and emotional novel about nostalgia, beauty, the passing of time and the meaning of happiness.
 
A tender book to end the summer, to celebrate it and to remember the essential experiences of life. A little gem, Maria Barbal’s signature.

Second week of blog reviews and one of the most awaited novels for me. Laura Mas, an author who published her first book THE MASTER OF SOCRATES in the middle of the pandemic, is back with a new novel starring another strong and powerful woman: OLIMPIA.

It is not easy to find novels about ancient history written by women, and Laura has found that niche within the literary panorama and she does it with distinction. The first book, despite the inconvenient time in which it came out, did not sell badly at all, and the reviews were remarkable. I assure you that the story of OLIMPIA, mother of Alexander the Great, will not leave anyone indifferent.

Macedonia, 357 BC. The young princess of Epirus, Myrtle, moves into the palace of Pella after her marriage to Philip, King of Macedonia. The two have sealed an unbeatable alliance between their respective kingdoms, but she soon finds it difficult to adapt to a court where she must live with the rest of Philip’s wives. In addition, her fondness for snakes will be rejected by some aristocrats and nobles, including her own husband.

A year later, Mirtale gives birth to a child and changes her name to Olimpia, thus beginning a period in which her top priority would be the survival of her dynasty. Ambitious and non-conformist, Olimpia will overcome all the difficulties that come her way and defy anyone who jeopardises her interests.

Even though not much has been said about this fascinating woman, Laura Mas builds a novel in which she gives voice to Olimpia, who will tell us in first person her own story: for years, she will try to make a place for herself in a court where intrigues and power struggles flourished. With her strong character, her clear intelligence and, above all, the authority that came from being Alexander’s mother, the queen will fight against everything and everyone to put her son on the throne.

Olympias is the portrait of a woman who transcended the gender roles of her time to raise her dynasty to glory. Feared by her contemporaries and reviled by history, she was truly responsible for Alexander the Great’s reign in Macedonia.

A novel with all the ingredients for international success; a powerful female protagonist and the agile pen of a young and special author like Laura.

Representing an author like Vanessa R. Migliore has provided me with a fresh and new perspective on the fantasy genre. At Sandra Bruna Literary Agency we have had the chance to represent big names in American fantasy literature such as Rick Riordan, Shelby Mahurin, or Roshani Chokshi, among many others, but Spanish authors who write this type of novels have been largely unappreciated, with the exception of a few, who were very successful. This is why The City of Death is so important: it proves that Vanessa’s voice is every bit as good as theirs. She has crafted a story where magic acts as the common thread. Through the pages of her book, she takes us into a world where not all magic is good and where the protagonists must discover how far they are able to go. 

The author brings us to the city of Cyrene, home of the Goddess of Death and powerful cradle of modern society. Three kinds of magic existed in the world. First there was shadow magic, which all summoners made use of and represented a significant portion of the population. Then there was shadow magic, a type of gift not seen on the continent for decades that could read and influence emotions. And finally, arcane magic, a supposedly extinct and dangerous type of power that Asia could control and which was believed to be a type of disease, because it drove anyone who could distinguish the threads of life to madness. 

The mystery has awakened: first, there were the puzzling deaths with strange black marks on corpses. Then came the cases of people vanishing, who no one knew how to explain. Everything seems to point to a magic that was thought to be extinct, an ancient magic which has returned and is now claiming victims. 

Kaia is a summoner marked by misfortune. When a corpse appears with strange marks that evoke a magic that has already disappeared, the safety of the summoners’ world is put to the test. Together with Medea, a summoner who has lived under the pressure of her family’s expectations, and Ariadne, a frustrated writer, Kaia will cross the boundaries of what is proper to discover what lurks in the darkest places of the city.

The City of Death has sold out its first edition in less than a month. In addition, it has brought the discovery of an extraordinary Spanish voice in one of the best-selling genres at the moment. Don’t you want to know more about her?

If you can’t wait any longer to read it, you can get it here.