Turned to Stone (35 page)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I often explain that Jaime Azcárate appeared to me in a daydream one morning when I was in class and said, “Don’t tell your story, tell mine.” And that’s what I did.

This is absolutely true. What I haven’t said before now is that, though the character has been through many adventures and will go through many more, the first story that came to me was the one you’ve just read, hopefully with satisfaction and with a smile on your face.

In mythology, Medusa was defeated after seeing her face mirrored in Perseus’s shield. Today, I aspire to make Jaime Azcárate a more or less fictitious—and most importantly an entertaining—reflection of those of us who look at life with curiosity and passion instead of worrying too much that we might be turned to stone or have our heads cut off.

The classical heroes accepted their fate without questioning it. We question ours (as we should!), but that doesn’t mean we ignore the singing sirens that call us to adventure, or the muses who whisper in our ears, suggesting mad quests, voyages, mysteries, and treasures. The boldest of us run headlong into the labyrinths of our lives, braving the monsters our minds generate until, at the end, we find ourselves. The important thing is that we learn and have fun along the way.

Turned to Stone
is one of those stories that, because it was an idea born in my youth, might never have seen the light of day. But now it’s here, and it serves as an example of the truth that every step taken is an important one. As it was for Jaime and as it was for me. If reading it has been such a step for you, too, my satisfaction will be threefold.

Jorge Magano

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Photo © 2014 Gonzalo Jerez “El Selenita”

Guided by his fascination with museums and love of Indiana Jones, award-winning writer Jorge Magano graduated with a degree in art history. Since then, he has worked at the University of Madrid and participated in archeological excavations that have taken him all over the world. Magano is the author of
La Isis dorada
(
The Golden Isis
),
Donde nacen los milagros
(
Where Miracles Are Born
), and
La mirada de piedra
(
Turned to Stone
).

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR

Photo © 2013 Thomas Frogbrooke

Simon Bruni is a literary, academic, and general translator from Spanish. In a career that has seen him translate everything from video games to sixteenth-century Spanish Inquisition manuscripts, he has found the pull toward literary translation irresistible. In 2011 he won a John Dryden Prize for his slang-driven translation of Francisco Pérez Gandul’s cult prison thriller,
Celda 211
. He has translated several novels for AmazonCrossing.