First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com! My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server today…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers and fans.
1/. Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
Oh! That’s an easy question: it was on April the 3rd, 2002, at about 4.30 in the afternoon...!
I was (and I still am, although I don’t know for how long…) a lawyer. That day I was especially tired. So I started writing a story that took place in an ideal land somewhere in an ideal time... I did it just as a way to relax from stress. And it worked! So that day I started doing something that I will probably continue doing for the rest of my life.
2/. Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
I was quite lucky. In my country, Spain, which is very small in comparison with the USA, they publish about 70.000 different titles every year. That’s a huge amount of books, and there’s an even bigger number of them that will never get published. There are too many writers, it seems! But when I sent my first book to my publisher, he said yes in just ten days time!
Here in America, CBH Books liked my books from the very beginning. I am sure the book’s translator, Stephen Caro, from Oxford, U.K. has a lot to do with its success. He’s done a great job.
3/. Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
So far, I have published three books in Spain. Each of them is a continuation of the first “Ivan of Aldenuri” Saga.
In the States, only book one has been published so far, but the English translation of book two is almost ready.
If I had to say just one thing about my books, I would say they’re books that for many people (several readers have told me so) are the very first books they’ve really read on their own. When I say “on their own”, I mean that they’ve read them because they really liked them, not just because they should read them for any reason.
If what you ask me is just about the story itself, I would say that, taking place in an ancient but unidentified time and place (which is inspired in the landscape an history of Western Europe), the story is epic, poetic, mysterious, and, of course, involves the eternal fight of good vs. evil.
Some people say my books are a bit like a Lord of the Rings-type story. Others say they’re completely original.
4/. What or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
That’s a good question! Every writer, in my opinion, writes about his the world he carries within himself. So I must confess, I take a great deal of my inspiration from myself. Even the name of Ivan is my name: Juan (in the middle ages I/J and U/V where not clearly distinguished.)
In a certain way, I keep inside a sort of ideal world, which has very much to do with some very happy memories from my childhood.
5/. Let’s hear about your family, who I’m sure are thrilled to have a published author among them!
I have no children, who without a doubt would have been the most thrilled to have a published Dad.
My sister Belén has helped me a lot; she was the first person to read my books. I also have a great number of nephews who are great fans of Ivan of Aldenuri.
And coming back to what I was saying on the last question, perhaps I must also feel specially thankful towards my parents.
6/. Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Very easy! Chocolate!
7/. What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
I put on my slippers, offer my day to God and go the window to have a look at the weather and the temperature outside.
8/. If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise me the most?
There aren’t really many strange things: wine bottles, old furniture, old skis and old medicine books from my father, who is a retired doctor.
9/. Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
My color is something between yellow and orange. Perhaps because I like the melancholy of autumn.
10/. Who is your favorite cartoon character?
Perhaps Fred Flintstone.
11/. Which cartoon character is most like you?
Perhaps Fred Flintstone.
12/. If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history, where and when would it be—and why?
That’s a difficult question…let me think…there are many times and places that I would like to visit. But at this moment I would say Holy Land during 30 A.D. The reason is obvious.
Also, Western Europe during the sixth century A. D. It’s a time that has always fascinated me: a very important period for the making of Europe.
13/. So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while you’re writing?
I like most types of music. My favorite musical artist is without doubt Mike Oldfield. I often listen to his music while writing.
14/. Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie you saw at the theater?
I prefer reading rather than watching TV. So I watch very, very little TV. Just the news, and a film from time to time.
The last movie I watched at the theater was The Lord of the Rings. I liked it very much. But I prefer the written story…
15/. You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Perhaps the advice Gheos gives to Ivan on book one, “The Forest of the Taurocs”: “Follow your heart towards good, no matter what. Go on, come what may. Your true way. Not the way that seems most attractive at the time.”
16/. One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
I once read a book from a very old writer (Mercedes Salisachs) that said that the most important thing in a book is the idea that it transmits. I completely agree with her.
I still have many ideas to transmit, so I think I will keep on writing as long as I can. But as I said in question FOUR, I think every writer has his “own interior world” from which he takes his inspiration. My inner world is that of ancient, epic times, so I will always write those types of stories, even if the characters and landscapes change from one book to another.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
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