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Madrid, December 14, 2022
The writer Laura Blanco Villalba presents in her first novel a gothic story set in the English Regency
'La Sirin', by Laura Blanco Villalba, edited by Valhalla Ediciones, is now available in bookstores. It is a gothic vampire novel that takes place in the English countryside at the height of the Regency. By the hand of characters drawn with precision and irony, the author introduces the reader to a provincial society that welcomes the arrival of a young aristocrat which is not what it seems. While the mothers of good families strive to marry their daughters to him, mysterious deaths begin to occur that alert the locals. The rumours, suspicions and clues are gradually being dropped until the final revelations are made. The narrative takes place in a double temporal thread that intertwines England in 1817 and Boston in 1968: In 'La Sirin', two 20th century vampires delve into the life of Mary Benedict to testify in the Blackbird case, a judicial process in which the evidence is "read" in the same blood and whose implications endanger the political balance of the Boston vampire lodge. Readers will enjoy with the metaliterary winks that dot the pages of this novel, in which the author pays homage to both the prose of Jane Austen and the origins of vampire literature, with numerous references to the forerunners of the genre: from Polidori to Stoker, going through Lord Byron. Customary fantasy in Spanish The Gothic novel by Blanco Villalba is part of what specialized critics call "costumbrist fantasy". A subgenre characterized by settings where social classes and observance of customs are a main element of the plot, as in this case with the English gentry that receives the arrival of the vampire. Among the main exponents of this genre are authors of Great international projection such as Susanna Clarke with works such as 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' (where magic determines the development of the Napoleonic wars), Jo Walton with 'Claws and fangs' (starring dragons in a society similar to Victorian England ) or Zen Cho with 'The Sorcerer of the Crown' (magic guilds and politics in the Regency). 'La Sirin' is one of the first publications in Spanish within the genre, dominated by Anglo-Saxon authors. From self-published to editorial signing After seeing some of her micro-stories selected in anthologies and competitions throughout Spain, Laura Blanco Villalba published in 2020 'Miríadas ', a work that summarizes some of his best hyperbrief fiction texts. Likewise, it has also published 'The longest song in the world', a Christmas story for all ages that reached number 1 in the Amazon category 'Children's books about Christmas' in 2020 and 2021.Valhalla Ediciones now publishes its first novel, 'La Sirin', in his Valkyrie collection dedicated to fantasy, urban epic and paranormal. 'La Sirin', a gothic novel that combines vampires and Jane Austen, is now available in bookstores.
Contact Contact name: Laura Blanco Contact description: Laura Blanco Contact telephone number: 650309126
