Speaking on Good Ghosts
Featured Guests: María Alejandra Barrios Velez and Fiona Hernandez
We’re kicking off our second season with a conversation between mentor alum and debut author of The Waves Take You Home, María Alejandra Barrios Velez, and Mentee Fiona Hernandez. María recently hosted a Friday Night Salon for Girls Write Now all about ancestry, inheritance, and the experience of writing her first novel in her second language. In this episode, you’ll hear María read two excerpts: one from the first draft of her novel and the second from the published book. We hope you enjoy this delicious conversation about home cooking, magical realism, and writing the book of your dreams.
You can order María’s book The Waves Take You Home, available now.
María Alejandra Barrios Vélez
Fiona Hernandez
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María Alejandra Barrios Vélez
María Alejandra Barrios Vélez is a writer born in Barranquilla, Colombia. She has an MA in creative writing from the University of Manchester and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and scruffy dog, Gus. She was the 2020 SmokeLong Flash Fiction Fellow, and her stories have been published in Shenandoah Literary, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, El Malpensante, Fractured Lit, SmokeLong Quarterly, The Offing, and more. Her work has been supported by organizations such as Vermont Studio Center, Kweli, Caldera Arts, and the New Orleans Writers’ Residency. The Waves Take You Home is María’s debut, inspired by the resilience and strength of the women in her family and the Caribbean city she spent most of her life in.
Fiona Hernandez
Fiona Hernandez graduated from college last year with her B.A. in Journalism. Ever since she was a child, she watched the Today show every morning with her family. That inspired her to go into journalism because she wanted to travel around the world and share other people's stories. She loves to read, write, travel, and meditate. Her passion for journalism, communications, and public relations has shown her that storytelling is a powerful tool. She is excited to share her writing with all of you and create new stories!
