Maria Elena Sandovici

You can try to run away from your life. You can pick a remote corner of paradise, max out your credit card, and tell nobody where you went. You can fly off to Mexico, stay in a hotel by the beach. They say saltwater cures everything. But your demons will find you. Chances are, they'll make friends with new demons along the way. And then, instead of hiding from the world, you'll be forced you confront your own internal chaos, and do the hard work you'd been trying to avoid. Stray Dogs and Lonely Beaches is a young woman's journey from Bucharest to New York, Cancun, and Paris, in the pursuit of the love that has eluded her all her life. Alina Ionescu inhabits a world that seems hostile, where dangers – real or imaginary – lurk at every turn, men are indifferent and elusive, and the relationships between women are fraught with jealousy, lack of compassion, and a whole minefield of hurt feelings and malicious gestures.

Seeking Love in a World Full of Evil Stepmothers

Stray Dogs and Lonely Beaches

Magic Lessons for Margo is a novel about overcoming childhood trauma, about a bond between two sisters, and an epic road trip from New Orleans to Galveston and Houston in search of ghosts, culinary adventures, and ultimately healing. To shield herself from her volatile mother and the sinister secrets lurking in the house she grew up in, Marga develops a love of science, order, precision, and comforting rituals. Later, as a pre-med student at UCLA, she reinvents herself as Margo, a stellar student who loves chemistry, albeit a socially awkward young adult reluctant to step out of her comfort zone and explore the world around her or even her own identity. But a Christmas with her long-estranged sister changes everything. Ana is only sixteen, but rather sophisticated. She loves elegant meals, expensive clothes, the nightlife in Madrid, and seems determined to inspire Margo to have more fun and indulge in occasional frivolity. But the dazzling younger sister also has a dark side - no surprise, considering the difficult childhood she refuses to talk about. Among other secrets, Ana hides a men's Rolex watch in her bedside drawer, something Margo suspects she's kept as a souvenir from a rebellious teenage escapade nobody in the family wants to tell her about. Worried for her sister's well-being as well as her own ability to fully be herself, Margo embarks on an unforgettable journey, challenging herself to face what she fears most: the magic of places such as New Orleans, Galveston, Houston, and ultimately Bucharest, the city she grew up in, but which she was always afraid to revisit. Along the way, Margo is determined to learn her sister's secrets, but also her own. What she doesn't bargain for is a newfound desire to understand the mother she was often fearful of and embarrassed by in childhood, a woman whose short, tumultuous life experience reveals itself as more complex, sadder, and much more relatable than Margo would have thought. Magic Lessons for Margo is a novel that can be read on its own, or in conjunction with The Adventures of Miss Vulpe, a book written from the perspective of Margo's younger sister, Ana, in which she sets out to uncover the mystery surrounding their mother's death.

A Follow-Up to The Adventures of Miss Vulpe

Magic Lessons for Margo

"Swept up in a whirlwind of intrigue, calculated seductions, and phantoms of her past existence, Aimée maneuvers the politics and personalities of the country's most famous red-light district with a grace and sophistication that belies her occupation, only to learn that the most daunting task she faces is that of self-discovery. By her side, we learn that redemption is found only after we first forgive ourselves. Love is more than a romantic feeling, rather a force of nature that is always on the side of truth and justice. And when we inevitably become disillusioned with the world, its demands, and the sacrifices that chisel away at our dreams, life will remind us that we cannot put a price on freedom." Kimber Fountain, Author of GALVESTON'S RED LIGHT DISTRICT: A HISTORY OF THE LINEFrom the bestselling author of Storms of Malhado comes a new historical novel delving into a captivating element of Galveston's past: the world of prostitution.Nobody comes to a brothel seeking a true story. But you will want to learn the truth about Aimée Bonnard, the best-paid woman in Galveston. Formerly known as Yvonne LaCroix, Aimée arrives on the Island in the summer of 1898. She's looking for work in a high-end brothel, but she is also outrunning the consequences of a deadly night in New Orleans - a night in which a rival prostitute lost her life. Mistress of deception, Aimée charms and entices her way into an existence of extravagance and adventure in one of the most exclusive brothels of Galveston. But does the life of a high-end prostitute offer as much freedom as Aimée craves? And will her past catch up with her? Befriending artists, architects, merchants, and gamblers, as well as a modest but kind-hearted doctor, Aimée falls in love with Galveston Island and discovers aspects of her own personality that surprise her. As a talented courtesan, her glory days are only just beginning. But a different Aimée surfaces, one that wants things that could stand in the way of her professional success, including allowing herself to fall in love. Meanwhile the past is closing in on her and Aimée will have to choose between the protection of a despotic madam and the uncertainty of taking matters into her own hands.

Maria Elena Sandovici

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