Mark McGinty
Author of The Cigar Maker
About the Author
Works by Mark McGinty
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- McGinty, Mark
- Birthdate
- 1975-09-10
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- Education
- Stetson University (BBA)
Xavier University (MBA) - Short biography
- Mark Carlos McGinty is a descendant of Cuban cigar makers whose work has appeared in Maybourne Magazine, Cigar City Magazine and La Gaceta. He grew up on ropa vieja, Cuban sandwiches, café con leche, and fresh-squeezed OJ from his grandfather’s tree in West Tampa. His favorite cigar is the Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8.
Mark spent 7 years writing The Cigar Maker. Most of that time was spent researching the history of Cuba, Tampa, and the cigar industry during the period of 1850 - 1910. During that time he ate a lot of Cuban food and smoked way too many cigars.
Mark’s first novel Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2003) won an Eric Hoffer Book Award Honorable Mention for General Fiction. He graduated from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida and got his Master’s degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Mark lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter.
Members
Reviews
Awards
Statistics
- Works
- 2
- Members
- 18
- Popularity
- #630,789
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 2
- Favorited
- 1
The working-class Cuban émigré world of Ybor City, in the first years of the 20th century is lovingly detailed; the vigorous personalities, customs and conversation, the foods and festivals, the work-day world of the cigar factories, and the recreations – cockfights and bolita games being only a small part of the entertainments brought by the Cuban cigar workers. I had never realized that there was a substantial Cuban community in Florida that early on; I had assumed that Castro’s Revolution was largely responsible for the current Cuban Diaspora. For a window into an unexpected and fascinating world – the Cigar Maker is recommended.
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