Photography: Blue Jeans. Facebook page.
jeans, the pseudonym of the Sevillian writer Francisco de Paula Fernandez, has a new novel in its prolific, successful and already long trajectory especially in juvenile literature. Its titled The camp and it is a thriller in which he dares with a touch of mystery around a death in strange circumstances that occurred in a camp attended by young people from very diverse origins. In this interview tells us about it and much more. I really appreciate your time and kindness.
Blue Jeans - Interview
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: The camp it is your new novel, where you have moved away from the themes of your previous books. What do you tell us about it and where did the idea come from?
BJ: I don't think I've gotten that far away. What happens is that now the main part is dedicated to mystery, but it still has the same Blue Jeans stamp as always. It is a youth thriller that arises from a conversation between my partner and I in full confinement. It occurred to her that she could isolate some boys in a camp without cell phones and without an Internet connection and from there I created the story.
- AL: Can you remember that first book you read? And the first story you wrote?
BJ: I honestly don't remember. As a child I read a lot because my parents are both very readers and I have always lived surrounded by books. Perhaps my first written story was a short story in which a person dies in a theater performance, and in the end it is discovered that the murderer is me (or something like that). Although the first thing I remember is an essay about laughter that was sent to me in class.
- AL: A head writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.
YR: Agatha Christie is my only reference. I have read absolutely everything about her. I don't have many header authors: Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Tolkien, Jules Verne… I have also read everything about Dolores Round o John verdon, For example.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
BJ: Maybe to Poirot or to Sherlock Holmes. I like intelligent and deductive characters.
- AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading?
BJ: I used to write in coffee shops until the pandemic hit. I can't stand silence to write and, conversely, not even the slightest noise to read. Although I do not have great hobbies for one thing or the other.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
BJ: All my novels, except The camp, I have written them out of home. I like write with noise, watching people come and go. I can't explain why, because I don't know myself. The coffee shops became my offices. In order to read I prefer to be in house quiet on the sofa or bed.
- AL: Are there other genres that you like?
YR: It goes by times. The novel black, thrillers, mystery… Is what I usually read. But I also read a lot historical novel at the time and I try to keep up to date with the outstanding youth novels, to be informed of what young people read and what my classmates do.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
BJ: I'm in a reader stop right now. I have several pending novels like In the middle of the nightby Mikel Santiago, The door, by Manel Loureiro or The game of the soul by Javier Castillo. I'm not writing either, although I don't think it will take me long to sit in front of the computer and look for a new story.
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is? Many authors and few readers?
BJ: Publishers are recovering from the coronavirus crisis and I think they have not suffered as much as expected, although it is clear that all sectors have had a bad time. It is a complicated and ephemeral world, so to dedicate a lot of time to this you have to give it your all 365 days a year. At least that's what I do. Before achieving it, I tried to post and I didn't get it the first timeIn fact, all the publishers rejected me. But I did not give up, I saw that social networks and the Internet could be a great tool and a good showcase to reach readers and thanks to the community that I built on the network I was able to publish Songs for Paula. It's been twelve years since this, fourteen novels in the market, though I still have a lot to learn.
- 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?
BJ: Very difficult. I do not think that the pandemic, the virus and what is happening have anything positive. It is obvious that, sooner or later, all this will appear in series, books and movies. Let's hope we don't end up saturating people.