Guest Post: The Chosen of Gaia by M.Mariz

Author Biography
M. Mariz is an actress, lawyer and writer with more than 20 plays produced. Her debut novel The Chosen of Gaia (Sept. 28, 2012) was inspired by her own Revelation dream.
Born in Rio de Janeiro and currently living in Southern California, Mariz writes screenplays and novels in both Portuguese and English. The artist has more than 15 years of acting experience, encompassing works in theater, television and movies. She has multiple plays and sketches featured in theaters, including a teenager play that was performed by young Brazilian celebrities all over the country, and has written many other plays for different Brazilian companies to present work-related themes in a funny, entertaining way.
She lives with her husband in Orange, California, where she is constantly developing ideas for new stories to tell.
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The Trash-Test

“She’ll probably just trash it! Maybe not... but probably yes…” that’s what my screenwriting agent said when she was about to submit my script – which I had worked hard on for a month of full days and sleepless nights– to a “very important executive” from a major studio. 
Okay, okay… I’m going to be honest with you. This person wasn’t a screenwriting agent per se, but a hairstylist that had a salon in Beverly Hills and who’d decided to help me land my first gig in Hollywood. And it wasn’t a regular submission either, but an audacious plan: she would place my script close to the mirror in front of this executive (whom, for privacy purposes, I’m going to refer to as Mrs. Fulana – a word that in Portuguese we use when we don’t remember a person’s name or we just can’t say it) a few minutes before she started styling her hair in hopes that she’d pick it up and read it. 
“Mrs. Fulana usually comes in with a few scripts; she merely flips through the pages and then she tosses them out,” continued my friend/hairstylist/agent, killing all expectations I had left. “But you’re such a good writer… maybe she’ll like it! But it’s unlikely to happen, unfortunately….” she continued. “Do you mind if your script ends up in the trash? Do you want me to hold off on the plan?” she asked. 
Well, what did I have to lose? That script was my first writing work since I had moved from Brazil and I didn’t know absolutely anyone in the movie industry… I needed to give it a try, so I asked her to proceed. 
A couple weeks later I got a call from my co-conspirator. Surprisingly, my screenplay had grabbed Mrs. Fulana’s attention and had also passed the “trash-test”. In fact, Mrs. Fulana was with her at that moment asking for my permission to take my script with her. 
Mrs. Fulana’s studio was economically in bad shape at that moment and striving to overcome a huge crisis, producing just a few projects. So I wasn’t bummed out when I got an email from her saying that they couldn’t take my project on at that time. I actually felt honored that an extremely busy executive had found some time to not only give me an update (something rare in this business) but also to say some very good things about my script. My story had passed the “trash-test” and gotten an amazing review from a much respected executive. That was something! 
Instead of submitting my script to other studios, I decided to work more on my story. As the idea of the story had come to me years ago from a dream, I realized that it was missing the most important element of the main character of the story – the confused but deep thoughts of a teenage boy.  It was something impossible to show on the screen, but that could be perfectly described in a book. 
On that day, I started to write my first YA novel titled “The Chosen of Gaia”, based on my original script but now told through a much more human perspective. 
Check out my book on Amazon and let me know what you think. I hope it passes your “trash-test” too, (and if you do happen to be a very important movie executive, the script is around here somewhere).

Fantasy YA, ages 12 +
230 pages

Sept. 28,2012

Synopsis
Fifteen-year-old Albert has just received an invitation that could transform his disappointing life completely – a chance to belong to an advanced and hidden society that only reveals itself to a select few.
Immersed in a new world of mind-boggling technology and intriguing peers, Albert will overcome his fears enough to ignore a few suspicious details. But soon he'll find his family dragged to the center of a scandal that threatens to tear them apart and erase their very identities.
A conflicted Albert must find the strength to challenge authority by relying on his newfound allies and gift for Revelation.
Prepare for adventure, humor and suspense in this fast-paced tale of a “normal”
family striving for their place in a “perfect” world.