Photography: Rafael Caunedo. Facebook profile.
A Raphael Caunedo I met him personally as a moderator at a readers' meeting organized by Ámbito Cultural to chat with Sunday Villar. Then I tracked him down. And at the beginning of this month he has released his new novel, Desire for accidents. I want to thank you for your kindness and time dedicated to this interview where he tells us about her and about much more.
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: Desire for accidents it's your new novel. What do you tell us about it and where did the idea come from?
RAFAEL CAUNEDO: As always, ideas come from asking you questions. One day, by chance, I saw a very young girl that was part of a unit of riot gear. They came from work, with their protectors still on, their uniforms stained with flour and eggs - I don't need to explain the reason - and faced with circumstances. When I looked at her, I thought: Will she have children? Will a baby be waiting for you at home? Are batons and bottles compatible? So I decided to take that woman out of reality and I turned her into Blanca Zárate. And I anticipate that in fiction it is much worse.
- AL: Do you remember the first book you read? And the first story you wrote?
RC: The truth is that I only remember the things that leave me some type of footprint. I must have selective memory. I specifically do not remember the first book. I have in mind titles that passed through my hands; they are memories of a happy childhood. But if I have to say howHe was the book that changed my reading habits, that was The Lord of the rings. As a result of his reading, I began to save every week to buy books. And so on until today. I cannot live without reading; nor can I do it without writing. I always liked doing it, but was quite reluctant to show my stuff. Error. Everything changed the day I accompanied a friend to a writing workshop. Between wines and portions of croquettes and omelettes we read our stories. Suddenly I was writing for others, not for myself, and that changed everything.
- AL: A head writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.
RC: I like them a lot. I read everything. I suppose that I am choosing according to the emotional state in which I find myself. Each book, or each author, has its moment. I like to discover new writers too, I allow myself to be advised by booksellers and also by my instinct, but the truth is that there was an author who, upon discovering it, made me consider the possibility of being a writer. I liked his books and himself, his enigma, his strange life, his personality. Was read to Thomas Bernhard and change my view on literature.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
RC: To anyone who, after sharing a table and tablecloth during a dinner, I want to repeat. Not many can last more than one dinner.
- AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading?
RC: I am not bothered by noise, nor by music, I can write anywhere. I have the facility to get into my world, even if I am in a cafe surrounded by people. The only thing I can't stand is having a conversation next door. I insist, I do not care about the fuss, the noise, but I cannot write as soon as I identify words linked with meaning.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
RC: I'm from morning biorhythms. My mind is more agile in the mornings. Interestingly, afternoons are ideal for reading. The place? Sincerely, I don't have a fixed place. I can write leaning against a tree trunk, under an awning on the beach, or in a cafe with jazz in the background. In my house, I usually do it anywhere. It is enough that there is no one next to me talking.
- AL: Are there other genres that you like?
RC: I read by impulse. I leaf through bookstores, I fiddle around a lot, and there is always a book that whispers to me, "It's me." And then I buy it. It influences the text of the back cover, the cover, and the random phrase that chance takes me to.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
RC: Right now I'm with Hamnetby Maggie O´Farrell.
I'm involved with a plot that I prefer not to tell anything about until it is more defined. Of course, I guarantee that the protagonist will be where he should not be.
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is and what decided you to try to publish?
RC: Statistically, Spain is one of the countries where it is published the most in the world. It is paradoxical that reading index sea lower than average. I do not know what result this contradiction causes to the publishers, but I assure you that if we read more, it would be better for all of us.
- AL: Is the moment of crisis that we are experiencing being difficult for you or will you be able to keep something positive for future stories?
RC: I don't think he writes anything about COVID, confinement and all that. I don't feel like it. The world from before was much more suggestive to me, so I write as if nothing had happened because I am sure that everything will pass and we will return to the same old problems, but without a mask or social distance. I like hugs and kisses at the first meeting, without being asked if you are vaccinated.