Alexandra Román de Hernández
Mother, wife, friend, writer; these words describe the author of the fantasy / adventure novel “El Valle de la Inspiración”, Alexandra Román Hernández. A graduate from the University of Puerto Rico (Cayey Campus) with a BA in natural sciences, she becomes home executive, as she likes to call the title housewife, after the birth of her firstborn, and is in this momentous time in her life that she gives free rein to her imagination. “Las letras” and the love for fiction, becomes her passion. Her English stories, such as "The Beginning", "The Door in front of me", "Journey to the island of ancestors" and the poem "The world is a stage", find a home on the Australian website Soul Food Cafe. In July 2006, the online magazines True Poets Magazine chooses her poem "Maybe ".
A.R. Hernandez not only explores these literary genres, she premieres as an essayist with "Being Latina and a Puerto Rican," published by "Mija Magazine", the Chicago newspaper "La Prensa" and Boricua.com. Similarly enters the theater with her works "The warrior of the Lord" and "The Lady of Israel: the story of Judith", the latter being adapted from the book of the Old Testament. Of course children's stories began to be an integral part of her daily life as a mother, and write two children's stories, still unpublished, "Princess Saly and the Witch Bruya" and "Menace to Society”. Her last publication was in the magazine "Better Homes and Gardens: Garden Ideas and Outdoor Living" with her article "You say Rosmery, I say Romero”.
On December, 7 1977, Bayamon became her birthplace, but her home has always been at “La ciudad llanera”, Toa Baja. From a young age Alexandra Román felt an attraction towards the written word, and became a voracious reader. That where she found her inspiration, especially in the fantasy and fiction books. It is in her youth that she makes her first attempts at literature with simple verses and poems; it is through them that she realizes that narrative was the way to go.
She’s currently working on her weblog a story of fantasy: "Argia, light and shadow". In her spare time, if she’s not having fun with her family, she’s dedicated to Jupes, a Catholic youth group, with whom she has worked for approximately fifteen years.
Summary for “El Valle de la Inspiración”
Within the land of the pharaohs there is a place known as the cradle of all inspiration and the home of wisdom. Egyptian poets for centuries have tried to find it, to get from it eternal inspiration, but only a few have found, as evidenced by the recent discovery of a tomb in the Valley of the Queens. The hieroglyphics narrates the journey of a young prince poet, who became one of the most acclaimed poets of his era. This finding brings hope to Nailah, a young writer who after the death of her father, who was a famous author and her inspiration, enters a depression that inhibited in her writing. Accompanied by her best friend and an Egyptologist, Nailah travels to Egypt to find the Valley of Inspiration, as archaeologists call it. But first, she must find the followers of the ancient Egyptian religion, who are the only ones that can lead her to the valley.
Nailah's adventure gets complicated, for the followers of the old religion have lived in anonymity for centuries. If she finds them, the hopes of recovering her inspiration and to write once more as she did before. If not, she would be forgotten and her life would be meaningless, since Nailah in the end is a wordsmith and nothing more. Armed with the sacred symbol of the Egyptian religion that will help her find the followers, Nailah undertakes the adventure of her life. The Valley of Inspiration is a story of adventure and fantasy; in which you will explore the mythological Egyptian world through the eyes of a young forger of words, and understand that sometimes we need to lose our sources of inspiration, so we can realize that we can achieve our goals if we believe in ourselves.
Press Release
Contact: Alexandra Román For immediate publication
Phone: (787) 579-6699
Email: aroman_9@hotmail.com
San Juan, Puerto Rico-
The Valley of Inspiration is a fantasy-adventure novel for young adults written by Alexandra Román de Hernández. In this novel, A.R. de Hernandez, leads the reader to explore the mythological Egyptian world through the eyes of Nailah, a young forger of words, which after the death of her father, a famous author and inspiration, enters a depression that the inhibited her writing. The recent discovery of a tomb in the Valley of the Queens, gives hope to Nailah, for the hieroglyphics narrates the journey of a young prince poet, who became one of the most acclaimed poets of his era. Accompanied by her best friend and an Egyptologist, she travels to Egypt to find the Valley of Inspiration, but first she must find the followers of the ancient Egyptian religion, who have lived in anonymity for centuries and are the only ones who may lead her to the valley. Armed with the sacred symbol of the Egyptian religion that will help her find the followers, Nailah undertakes the adventure of her life.
Through The Valley of Inspiration-a magical journey to the land of Pharaohs and Egyptian gods’ world-this novel author teaches us to understand that sometimes we need to lose our sources of inspiration, to realize that we are able to achieve our goals if we believe in ourselves.
For more information about the book or interviews, please contact the author Alexandra Roman, 787-579-6699, or send an e-mail to aroman_9@hotmail.com.
Q&A
What inspired the book?
The book came from a notion that appeared in my thoughts. It was more a question, where would I go to get back my inspiration if I ever lost it? The answer came as the initial concept: a valley. It was from that thought from which I started this story.
Where this novel takes place?
The story takes place in the present, and begins in the hometown of Nailah, a young wordsmith, and it is her who takes us to the land of the Pharaohs, Egypt, where the rest of the novel develops.
Why Egyptian mythology and not another?
It was my godmother, who has a fascination with everything Egyptian, like many. The mythology that has always struck me was the Greek, but I went into the Egyptian for I wanted to know more about it. In the process I fell in love with this mystical and ancient culture filled with secrets and that is slowly revealing it secrets to the world. The story and the Egyptian mythology complemented each other in the way I wanted to tell it, they were destined to be together.
Tell us about the novel and its heroine Nailah, is she her creator?
Nailah has something of me, but definitely she is not its creator. She is what I’m not; she does what I dare not to. In her I've put features that I am missing, so you can live the adventure, because otherwise, if it were me, would not be any adventure.
Nailah, as stated earlier, is a young wordsmith that falls into depression after the death of her father, who was her inspiration and the one responsible for her falling in love with the written word. This depression, in which she slowly and with great force enters, inhibits her writing. Her best friend, Hesepti, is the one who speaks to her about the valley of inspiration, which in turn she learns from her grandmother, a retired Egyptologist. With nothing to lose, Nailah embarks herself, alongside her friend and the Egyptologist, to Egypt to find the valley. To do this, she must first find the followers of the old Egyptian religion, who still guard the ancient rituals and believes, and the only ones that can take her to the valley.
What can we learn from Nailah’s journey?
To trust yourself; and that sometimes, bad things need to happen to us in order to mature and know ourselves. Nailah, with this journey blossoms, matures, she grows up. She understood that in order to have something you desire, sacrifices must be done, even if it means traveling to strange places with knowing what you will find and who you will meet.
I heartfelt Gracias to Alexandra for providing all the info on this post. You can also check out her recent interview at PRSUN Radio with Clarisel Gonzalez. Her book is currently available at:
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Gracias, Efraín, por la oportunidad de ser invitada en tu blog.
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