Welcome to my new home away from home. Where magic is real, dragons make the best of friends, and vampires are ready to make their comeback.
I'm Cattaleya Giraldo, an aspiring author currently tied up in edits for my first manuscript. Engineer by day, writer of love and apocalypse by night, spending way too many late evenings reading all things romance, fantasy, and paranormal into the wee hours and hoping that anything that does go bump in the night is just a (mostly) friendly neighborhood vampire. Perhaps one with a bit of amnesia. Or on the hunt for their fated mate.
My current WIP is about love, loss, and friendship in the time of apocalypse. Set in an alternate modern universe with (loose) Colombian analogs, a group of unlikely allies are forced to bond together in hopes of defeating a tyrant king and saving their kingdom. They learn the price of magic and the costs they must be willing to pay for the future they envision and find love and form unshakable friendships along the way.
I started this project during Nanowrimo in 2018, and just finished my first draft of the first series arc in June of 2020. I'm hoping to have edits completed and book one--title to be revealed soon (hopefully)--sent out to beta readers by February of 2021. This is my first attempt at writing a novel, and I found the nano community and creative writing at the time I needed an emotional outlet most. Maybe one day I'll share my story.
For now, I'll just say that growing these characters has helped me through some of the lowest lows I've ever experienced. Loving them for their flaws, their mistakes, and the deep good in each of their hearts. Watching them triumph against unbeatable odds. Building and navigating this world full of so much heartache and so much beauty at the same time. And finding ways to weave in bits and pieces of the Colombian culture that I only received in such limited doses, growing up as a Colombian-Filipino American, has been such an incredible experience for me.
Here's hoping I'll see you here in the Haven again soon.
-Cat