The Cigar Maker – Official Release Date

Mark McGinty’s second novel The Cigar Maker will be released nationwide June 1, 2010 by Seventh Avenue Productions.

The 466 page historical epic tells the story of Salvador Ortiz, a Cuban cigar maker who battles labor strife and vendetta in Ybor City, Florida in the early 1900’s. Read more about the book:

The Cigar City. The year is 1898. Young Cuban rebel Salvador Ortiz and his family have escaped the hardship of war-torn Cuba, but the union halls, cigar factories, and dark alleys of Tampa are filled with violence and vendetta. Salvador must defy constant labor strife and deadly corruption in a one-industry town filled with backroom cockfights, street thugs, late-night abductions and mass production of the world’s best hand-rolled stogies. An ideological battle for control of the cigar industry tests Salvador’s self-respect and love of hard work as he fights to abandon his rambunctious, outlaw past and lead his proud Cuban family through a colorful immigrant society. His wish for a peaceful life as a husband, a father, and a man of dignity is threatened by a lawless underworld and a cultural conflict with a dangerous, bloody history.

Dianne Salerni, author of We Hear the Dead, has said “From the mountains of 19^th century Cuba, where bandits and revolutionaries fought to overthrow Spanish dominance, to the floor of the cigar factories in Ybor City, Florida, where labor leaders sought to defend Cuban workers from exploitation by Spanish business owners, The Cigar Maker delivers a riveting, little-known chapter in the history of Latino-Americans in the US southeast.

“Salvador Ortiz, a young man orphaned by violence in his homeland of Cuba, joins a group of bandits as a ‘torch and machete’ man, terrorizing a Spanish plantation owner by kidnapping his daughter, but grows into a husband, a father, a community leader, and a man of honor and dignity in this novel of labor movements and corruption in turn-of-the-century Florida.”

The book’s cover will be released in February. You can preview The Cigar Maker here, where the first three chapters are available. The interior maps will also be released in the coming months along with the official website.

To request a review or schedule an interview, please contact Mark McGinty at mmcginty_32@yahoo.com.

Specs below the fold…

Where Da Boogle Been?

Hey gang. Yeah, I know. Not a lot of new material on the Boog these past few days. I’ve been working diligently to finish up my almost-final draft of The Cigar Maker. After 6 years in the making, the book is complete and only needs a proof read and one last pass to check for continuity and to trim the fat.

Really leaning towards the self-publishing route with this one, but I’m going to hit a few agents and publishers just to see what happens. I don’t plan to exert too much energy on that though – I’d rather save my strength for writing and promotion rather than use it up sending queries and reading rejection letters.

The book has already received a great blurb!! Check it out!

From the mountains of 19^th century Cuba, where bandits and revolutionaries fought to overthrow Spanish dominance, to the floor of the cigar factories in Ybor City, Florida, where labor leaders sought to defend Cuban workers from exploitation by Spanish business owners, The Cigar Maker delivers a riveting, little-known chapter in the history of Latino-Americans in the US southeast.

Salvador Ortiz, a young man orphaned by violence in his homeland of Cuba, joins a group of bandits as a “torch and machete” man, terrorizing a Spanish plantation owner by kidnapping his daughter, but grows into a husband, a father, a community leader, and a man of honor and dignity in this novel of labor movements and corruption in turn-of-the-century Florida.

Dianne K. Salerni

Author of We Hear the Dead, Sourcebooks, April 2010

Thank, Dianne for the encouraging words!! With time (and money) on my side, The Cigar Maker should be in stores sometime next summer. I might start posting some excerpts or two here in the coming weeks for all who are interested.

Ok, enough about me (even though this is, ahem, MY blog)…I know some of you are waiting for some reviews. Yep. I’m working on it. Right now I’m about 1/4 into John Haley’s Legendary Sidekick in 4-D! and I’m working on a review of Big Funny. But don’t excited – the mom-in-law’s dropping by this weekend and next weekend is the Great Minnesota Get Together – the Minnesota State Fair…chesse curds, pronto pups, meats on sticks, midway games, margarita-beer, more cheese curds….mmmm….I’ll have more freetime in September. Until then, keep sending your books – I’m enjoying the great variety of books y’all are sending.  Keep it up!

And don’t forget to check out my first novel, Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy – currently on sale at amazon!