Interview With Author Veronica Carrera
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and was raised by a single mom. She was bi-racial and of European and African descent. As a single mother, we struggled a lot financially, but somehow, she pushed through life and found a way for us to survive and feel safe. Stability is what I yearned for most as a child. My mother died suddenly when I was 9 years old with a brain tumor and life was never the same. I went through arduous challenges at a young age and it allowed me to live a life that made me realize eventually that your pain can become the message and that as human beings we came here to be happy. Fortunately, my mother raised me with great discipline, and she placed a lot of emphasis on my education, and this became her legacy. All I want is to honor her life by honoring mine as well.
I wrote my first book, “140 Miles of Life- A Remarkable Journey to Self-Acceptance & Love about a year ago. The central part of the story is about growing up as a Mormon and coming out as gay. You can imagine the struggle I had to be part of a religious institution that believes that being a “homosexual is a crime next to murder.” It took me many years to accept myself and the journey to self-acceptance and love was rather difficult, but also one of the most healing, powerful, and defining experiences of my life.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
140 Miles of life is my first book and only book I have written so far. The death of my grandmother inspired me to read the book. Losing grandma broke my heart wide opened and it allowed me to start a journey inward. Really asked myself the hard questions on what matters most in life, who am I? What do I want? Is there anything I am carrying that I have not healed?
I started to spend a lot of time by myself and started to write. I was following this prompting that I needed to write my story, but I did not fully understand why. As I was a few pages in, I started to feel that there was a much bigger purpose and as I continued to write, I started to experience life in such a magical way and I began a beautiful healing journey. I decided to go to Costa Rica to participate in an Ayahuasca ceremony with some wonderful Shamans at Rythmia. It was a life-altering and powerful experience and I wrote all about it in my book. I wanted others people’s lives to change the way mine did.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I am a very disciplined person so although I did not set a writing schedule for myself, I always knew that any free time that I had from my day job, was an opportunity to write. I saw it as a privilege to take the time to reflect on my life and become a channel of inspiration to write things that I thought would be the most helpful for anyone who read my book.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Isabelle Allende, Paulo Coelho, Zainab Salbi, Gay Walley.
What are you working on now?
At this moment I am in the process of building a Holistic Retreat in Samara, Costa Rica. I bought a mountain 10 minutes away from Samara Beach, which is located in a 5-blue zone. We are finishing phase I of the project and we will be building the Yoga & meditation place on top of the mountain. The mission is to create a space for people to connect to themselves, connect with Mother Earth, and to ancient spiritual wisdom
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
The best method of promoting my book is on Amazon at the link below.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Sometimes I hear people who want to write and they put a lot of effort and beauty in what they write, but they do not finish. I would say that even in those moments when you feel stuck and you do not know which direction to go with the writing, just pause, release the need to be perfect, and become an empty vessel to receive the inspiration to continue to shape the story all the way to the end.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Integrity is everything.
What are you reading now?
I am reading “A Course in Miracles.”
What’s next for you as a writer?
I would like to write a book about Conscious Leadership.
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?
A Course In Miracles
The Alchemist
The Divine Matrix
Author Websites and Profiles
Veronica Carrera Amazon Profile
Veronica Carrera Author Profile on Smashwords
Veronica Carrera’s Social Media Links