Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born on March 14th of 1985, in Rosario, Argentina. At the age of 10 I wrote my first fairy tale as a way to deal with a very painful earache. I found writing comforting and distracting. After that day, I continued writing every time I felt the need of leaving realty behind.
By the age of 18 I had around 120 pieces written, between fairy tales, poems, life’s reflections and other stories. I always wanted to publish my stories but never had the confidence to do it. After my son was born, my husband and my best friend gave me the confidence that I needed to start writing my first book.
At the moment I have only one book finished and published, Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest (Stories of the fairy of my dreams #1). I already started the second book of the series, The diary of Amanda, which I hope to publish this year.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Chronicles of the Nocturnal Forest, is my first and latest published book. When I was about 12 years old I started putting some of my stories together and connecting them to create a novel. When I decided to really write my book, I translated them to English and added Melanie, who wasn’t a character of the stories but it is the glue to connect them all.
The main inspiration I had was the books and movies of my childhood and the need to bring that kind of stories back. As I say on my blog and twitter, my main purpose is to bring the fantasy back, the old fashioned fairy-tale kind of fantasy.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a 15 months old son, I am a stay at home mom, without a nanny or a maid or any family close to me to help, so I dont have the chance to make myself a writing routine, I just use whatever free time I can find, and I stay awake at night if its needed. Sometimes I dream or have ideas coming to my mind and I cant sleep until I write them down, so when I am working on a book, I have a lot of sleepless nights. I am very grateful for always having coffee in my house.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite book of all times is “Alice in Wonderland”, by Lewis Carrol. I read it about 30 times and never get bored of it. I always loved the lack of logic on the story, the crazy characters and they clever conversations.
A book that marked me for ever, was “The never ending story”, by Michael Ende. I always dreamt of being pulled into one of my books and be the hero of the story, I read it countless times with the hope of hearing the voice of the Childlike Empress calling for my help. It never happened, but it was the main influence to my writing.
What are you working on now?
I have 3 writing projects at the moment:
– I am putting stories together for my second book, “The diary of Amanda” which is also the second on “The fairy of my dreams” series. I have the prologue and the story-line ready.
– I am writing and illustrating few children’s book, for very young children, that I am planning to offer for free on the kindle store.
– My husband and I are co-writing a YA fantasy book. I will not give many details yet but I really like it so far.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Goodreads is the best source I have to promote myself, to find great books, to meet fellow authors and to be in touch with readers.
Next to goodreads there is twitter, facebook and my blog.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Just keep writing, dont stop to fix the details and format, just keep going, if you have an idea in the middle of the night, have your phone handy to take notes, and most important, write a book that you would love to read!
What are you reading now?
I am reading two books that were given to me to review, “Chances Are” by Mysti Parker and “Exodus” by Drew Avera. I am also reading two books for my pleasure, “The Certainty of Violet & Luke” (The Coincidence, #5) by Jessica Sorensen and “Pretty Little Liars” (Pretty Little Liars, #1) by Sara Shepard.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I plan to finish “The diary of Amanda” as soon as possible, and keep working on my other projects.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
– “The Never Ending Story” by Michael Ende, because I dont know how long I will be on the island and I cant picture a life without reading it again.
– “Toda Mafalda” by Quino, because I will need to laugh sometimes, it is a huge book, but, again, I cant picture a life without reading it again.
– “Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S.Lewis, I would take the box set with the complete series, if it not considered like cheating, I only read 3 of them and I would like to finish it and read it all again.
Don’t be surprised that I won’t be taking “Alice in wonderland” with me, since it is my favorite book, I already know the story and dont need the book to travel to Wonderland 🙂
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