Carla Montero. Interview with the author of The Fire Medallion

Photography: Carla Montero, Twitter profile.

Carla montero He studied Law and Business Management, but the last few years have been devoted to literature. He won Novel Readers Circle Award with A lady at stake, her first success. Then they continued The emerald table, The golden skin, The winter on your face or The Verelli Women's Garden. His latest novel is The fire medallion and it came out last October. Thank you so much your time and kindness in granting me this interview in which he talks about her and other topics.

Carla Montero - Interview

  • ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: The title of your novel is The fire medallion. What do you tell us about it and where did the idea come from?

CARLA MONTERO: The fire medallion take up some of the characters from a previous novel of mine, The emerald table, to embark them on a new adventure in search of the relic that gives the book its title. Ana Garcia-Brest, a young art historian, and martin lohse, a mysterious treasure hunter, are the protagonists of this plot that takes them through Madrid, Berlin, Zurich, Saint Petersburg or Istanbul in a dangerous race to get the jewel.

During their search, they will connect with a history of the past that takes place in Berlin, in May 1945, just after the Soviets have taken the city and World War II ends in Europe. In this scenario several characters converge that have a lot to do with the medallion: Katya, a Russian sniper; Eric, a German scientist; Ramiro, a Spanish student, and Peter Hanke, a former agent of the Gestapo.

The idea of retake the characters de The emerald table It is something that, throughout these ten years since the publication of this novel, the audience. That, together with other topics that I wanted to discuss and that seemed to fit perfectly with the project, has led to The fire medallion.

  • AL: Can you go back to that first book you read? And the first story you wrote?

CM: No, I don't remember the first book I read. It may have been a comic, I loved them as a child, also the books of Elena Fortun, The five, The Hollisters… Maybe the first adult book I read was Cardigan, Daphne du maurier, and it blew me away. The first thing I wrote was a romantic adventure, by hand, in folios, being a teenager.

  • AL: A head writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras. 

CM: I have too many favorite authors, I can't pick one. Jane Austen, the sisters bronte, Charles Dickens, oscar Savage, Agathe Christie, Hemingway, Scott-Fitzgerald, Ken leaflet, rosamunde pilcher, Michael Delibes, Elena Fortún ... Buf, is that I left so many ...

  • AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create? 

CM: A Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.

  • AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading? 

CM: None. Due to my circumstances as a member of a large family, I write where I can, how I can and when I can.

  • AL: And your preferred place and time to do it? 

CM: If I can choose, I prefer the moments of silence and solitude, at my desk in front of the window, with a tea, which ends up being cold, and a lit candle. 

  • AL: Are there other genres that you like?

CM: All but terror -except for some classic- and science fiction

  • AL: What are you reading now? And writing?

CM:Men without women, Murakami. And write, I'm writing a few interviews.

  • AL: How do you think the publishing scene is and what decided you to try to publish?

CM: Me I decided to publish the Circle of Novel Readers Award. Until then, I had not had the vocation to publish, I wrote for my own enjoyment. But I came across this recently announced award and the fact that it was voted exclusively by readers encouraged me to apply. I won it and that has brought me to where I am today, twelve years later and with six published novels.

Currently, the existence of numerous self-publishing platforms It is a good showcase to make the leap into the publishing world. It is also true that there is a lot of competition and, from what I hear, it is difficult to find works that combine quality and commercial orientation.

  • 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?

CM: The current situation is not affecting me at a professional level, in any case, it is doing it for the better because these years of pandemic people have regained their taste for reading as a priority form of leisure. In any case, I don't think this pandemic inspires me. I, for my part, have enough to live it, I don't want it to be part of my stories too. It's not even an attractive subject for me as a reader.


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