A dark academia story set in Mexico, part myth, part mirage, coming February 2027. The White Ceiba is a novel-in-progress.
The White Ceiba
Somewhere between the jungle and the sea, a luxury resort prepares for its annual Day of the Dead gala. The wealthy guests arrive: architects, business people and their families, professors, an artist, the wounded rich, each seeking transformation. But beneath the rituals and the fragrance of marigolds, something ancient stirs.
It is a story about class, myth, and the quiet violence of beauty.
Newsletter
While the book is being written, I share letters every two months exploring the inspirations behind it:
- fragments of Mexican mythology and Maya architecture
- notes on poisonous plants and mycelium intelligence
- reflections on women’s solitude, desire, and power
- scenes from research trips and secret histories behind the story (including recommendations for the best food, tours etc. in Yucatan, tailored for solo traveling women like me)
Join if you like your decadence thoughtful, your fiction unsettling, and your travel a little haunted. Click on this link or scan the QR code.
Think: The White Lotus meets Maya mythology.
Please find here some short blog posts by the author and guest bloggers to learn more about the Mexican forests, landscapes and nature/culture.
MEXICAN STORIES IN THE WOOD WIDE WEB
The Nanche Tree
My grandma has a nanche tree in her garden. It stands comfortably in the middle of the garden, making himself at home, stretching his branches as far as they can reach; to the south they intertwine with the guava tree, to the east they almost touch the papaya tree, to the north they scratch the balcony from the second floor and to the west they just float happily in the air. The nanche tree is the least known of the trees in my grandma’s garden, for even in my country many people haven’t seen it or heard from it. Unlike…
Guava tree
My grandma has a guava tree in her garden. That tree was already there when I was born and in all likelihood will continue to be there long after I’m gone. That’s not surprising, after all, it is a sturdy tree that easily adapts to different kinds of terrain and climate. The tree is strong and so is the smell of its fruit. There are many kinds of guavas in the world, varying in color and size. Some are white or pink inside, some are green or yellow outside and some can fit in your hand while some others can…
Aluxes, the guardians of the Maya jungle and cenotes
At the end of October, I left Europe for 3–4 weeks in Mexico, more specifically the Maya region, which is partly situated on the Yucatán Peninsula. Via GetYourGuide, I booked a tour to visit cenotes, learn more about the spirited world, and support eco-tourism and Indigenous guardians. Apparently, I was the only one interested in that, and after some back-and-forth with the guide over whatsapp, it was decided that I would join a more mainstream tour combining two cenotes and the old Maya site of Uxmal. When we arrived at the first cenote, the other tourists hurried to the changing…
Stories from the Wood Wide Web 