Actualidad Literatura has had the pleasure of interviewing independent author Israel Moreno. This Sevillian living in Ceuta has already managed to publish three books, “Tomorrow is Halloween”, the sequel “Today is Halloween”, and the romantic comedy “Behind my music”.
This professor who is fond of comics, video games and cinema, gives us a little of his time so that we can get to know him a little better.
Actualidad Literatura: Among other things, you define yourself as a book lover, where does your love of literature come from? What prompted you to write?
Israel Moreno: Writing a novel had always been one of my aspirations. But I never got on with it. This work, "Tomorrow is Halloween" was born thanks to a script for a short film that went to eighty pages and was hidden on a hard drive for four years. One day I thought that I could give it out through a novel and I got down to work. This is how "Tomorrow is Halloween" was born.
AL: So Tomorrow is Halloween was the first thing you wrote?
IM: Exact.
AL: What or who do you draw inspiration from when you write?
IM: My main sources of fear come from the movies. I have read less horror literature than I would like because there are many genres that also interest me such as historical fiction, crime fiction etc. Of modern authors one cannot fail to mention Stephen King. But the two great novels that inspired me are Bran Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. They are absolutely essential. But my greatest base is found in my love of cinema in general.
AL: Some of us have certain hobbies when it comes to writing. Which is yours? Do you have a favorite ritual, time of day or place to inspire you?
IM: None. I am a chaos in that sense and sometimes I am surprised how well organized works come out in the plots and characters. I write when I can and I don't have much time. I have a professional team that works with me so that there are no cracks in the story or the corrections.
AL: As you have said, you had always wanted to write a book, how was the experience when you published your first work?
IM: Tomorrow is Halloween saw the light when I participated in the first contest indie organized by ELMUNDO and AMAZON in 2014. Although I could not enter the final, it helped me to make myself known and promote my work. It also had a good reception from both criticism and opinion. That made me start writing. Being a hobby, I don't think I would have followed this path if it had had a cold reception. But I was lucky to have a lot of support and that made me take this literature a lot more seriously.
AL: As a passionate reader, what books would you say have left the most impression on you?
IM: Reading Tolkien's Lord of the Rings was a before and after for me. If I have to thank someone for my passion for reading, I think it is him. I do not know from the writing, I would almost say that I owe it to all those film directors who have made me dream of fantastic, terrifying stories and even musical romantic comedy as in my last publication.
AL: Tolkien aside, who are your favorite authors?
IM: Tony Jiménez, Fernando Gamboa, Jorge Magano, Ulises Bértolo. Who does not know them to look for references of them on the internet. They are all great and some kings of desktop publishing.
AL: As a freelance writer, which author would you like to collaborate with?
IM: With Tony Jiménez, an author from Malaga who is for me a reference in the national horror literature. He already has a good handful of books of excellent quality such as BLOOD STORM, FIVE GRAVES WITHOUT A TABLE or THE ONE THAT HIDES.
AL: At the moment you have played two different genres, horror and romantic comedy. Have you ever considered using a pseudonym?
IM: Never and also does it cross my mind to create a work and that people do not know that I am the author. At these independent levels it doesn't make sense.
AL: Your first job stood out thanks to a script for a short film. If someone decided to take your works to the cinema, which of them would you like it to be? Who would you like to play it?
IM: The truth is that I would love to see all my works taken to the cinema. I have a very cinematic way of writing and any of my works would be ideal in that format. Although "Behind my music" would be the ideal work since it is a musical and on the big screen it would look how it really should. The Halloween saga would rather leave it for a series, I think that is where it would work best. The truth is that seeing any of my works in any of these formats would fill me with happiness. I do not care who did it, but always within a minimum quality canons because otherwise it would be up to an incentive.
AL: What was a hobby for you has become an important part of your life. What would you advise someone who is starting to write?
IM: I would tell you to be patient and organize a plan well. The presence in social networks is essential. Making a book trailer also helps a lot. But the bottom line is that you write a good book. No self-promotion cookbook is going to help you if there isn't something with potential behind it. It has worked a lot for me to send the book to literary blogs in exchange for reviews (knowing that you expose yourself to a bad review, but you have to jump in and trust your product). Then word of mouth will be essential, although it is slow, it is the engine of success.
AL: Last but not least… Do you have a project on your hands?
IM: Well, I published in October of last year "Today is Halloween", the sequel to my first book "Tomorrow is Halloween". It has taken me two years of hard work and I think it will be my farewell to the horror genre, although not the Youth-adult genre which is where I move best. Right now I am somewhat stopped. Rested. I needed it, but I have several works in mind and will soon be writing again.
We hope that Israel will get to work with that idea that haunts his head, and hopefully very soon we can enjoy another novel of his. For now, you can follow in his footsteps at lapandilladelmonstruo.com.