The Chosen of Gaia Blog Tour: guest post and giveaway

I'm excited to have The Chosen of Gaia Blog Tour stopping by today with a guest post from author M. Mariz and a giveaway!

The Chosen of Gaia

Fifteen-year-old Albert has just received an invitation that could transform his disappointing life completely – a chance to belong to an advanced and hidden society that only reveals itself to a select few.
Immersed in a new world of mind-boggling technology and intriguing peers, Albert will overcome his fears enough to ignore a few suspicious details. But soon he'll find his family dragged to the center of a scandal that threatens to tear them apart and erase their very identities.
A conflicted Albert must find the strength to challenge authority by relying on his newfound allies and gift for Revelation.
Prepare for adventure, humor and suspense in this fast-paced tale of a “normal” family striving for their place in a “perfect” world.

Book Website: TheChosenOfGaia.com

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Book Depository

Lucky...or Not...

by M. Mariz

My dad was one of those who had a morality tale for almost every situation in life. As his stories were repeated regularly, I wound up developing through the years a very believable “concentrated look,” while I was actually spaced out thinking about my weekend with friends.

But somehow his stories would always find a way to dodge my strategy, getting stuck in brain like a computer-programmed high tech bullet. Weirdly, they did actually offer some guidance.

One of his favorite stories was about a very poor boy who lived in a farm with his family. One day, he received a wild horse as a gift from an outsider who didn’t know how to tame the animal. Looks like the boy finally ran into some luck, right? Well, after spending exhaustive months training the horse, the animal wound up running away on a dark night. Guess the boy’s unlucky after all! Well, a few weeks later the horse came back… and with a herd! Lucky little dude, right? Well, training a whole herd wasn’t easy and one day the boy had his leg severely broken. Pretty messed up for a kids’ story, wouldn’t you say? Well, a war began that same week, and because of his leg he wasn’t drafted into the army. Lucky? Well…

The story’s constant twists made me start to think twice before labeling events in my own life. When I was seven, I broke my middle finger (yeah, the cast was a little awkward) during the summer. I couldn’t swim or ride my bike but in the end, my small injury helped me to develop a new talent – “the abandoned puppy” look. Using this, I could get anyone to do pretty much anything I wanted. Asking like I was on the verge of tears and affecting a sad tone of voice could even help me have French fries with ice cream. That’s when I realized I could act, and decided to improve and pursue that special “gift”.

A few years later, I had my first professional theater play canceled a day before its premiere. I was devastated for days, but my first big disappointment in the business brought me a sweeter victory.  The unfairness of the situation motivated me to write my own play. The play got produced and even generated decent revenue.  

Life’s mutability is also one of my favorite ingredients in a novel and that constantly inspires me to write. Events take wild turns, opportunities trickle through our hands, and people become harder to read. Then everything changes again. But that’s what builds our own personality. A character with the same vulnerability makes an instant connection with the reader, forming a bond. And the unpredictability of events is what makes a piece of fiction not only a good page-turner, but also weirdly similar in some aspect with our own lives.

If you’re looking for lighthearted, young-spirited novel, with vulnerable and deeply human characters, check out my own twist-filled tale, The Chosen of Gaia. Fifteen year old Albert stumbles into an invitation which seems to offer him the chance to live out his wildest dreams. Such a lucky boy, right? Well…

M. Mariz: Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads

M. Mariz is an actress, lawyer and writer with more than 20 plays produced. Her debut novel The Chosen of Gaia (Sept. 28, 2012) was inspired by her own Revelation dream.

Born in Rio de Janeiro and currently living in Southern California, Mariz writes screenplays and

novels in both Portuguese and English. The artist has more than 15 years of acting experience,

encompassing works in theater, television and movies. She has multiple plays and sketches

featured in theaters, including a teenager play that was performed by young Brazilian celebrities

all over the country, and has written many other plays for different Brazilian companies to

present work-related themes in a funny, entertaining way.

She lives with her husband in Orange, California, where she is constantly developing ideas for

new stories to tell.

Win a copy of The Chosen of Gaia

JKS Communication has offered one (1) copy of Mariz's book to give away!!!

DETAILS

-US ONLY

-One (1) winner will win a physical copy of the book

-Must be 13+ to enter

-One entry per person

-Winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-I am NOT responsible for lost, damaged or stolen prizes as they are not being sent by me

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