Javier Pellicer: «Publishing was always very complicated»

Javier Pellicer, writer of historical novel, has new novel, Lerna, The Legacy of the Minotaur, which came out on October 8. I really appreciate the time you spent on this interview in which he talks about books, authors, projects and the publishing scene.

INTERVIEW WITH JAVIER PELLICER

• ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: Do you remember the first book you read? And the first story you wrote?

JAVIER PELLICER: My first readings weren't really books as such, they were comics. I became a reader thanks to Asterix, Mortadelo and Filemón, Spiderman or Batman. This kind of reading is never given enough credit, but I think it is a gender What can be essential to introduce the children in the world of literature.

As for the first story I wrote, I was ambitious (and quite naive) in daring a whole fantastic trilogy which, by the way, I bound and still keep. Not because I'm proud of that grotesque (no one is born taught), but precisely so that he reminds me how much I have advanced as a writer.

• AL: What was the first book that struck you and why?

JP: I don't think the answer is very original: The Lord of the Rings. In fact, I was so passionate about it that it was the trigger of deciding to be a writer. Once again, naive of me, I wanted to emulate Tolkien's arts (hence the trilogy I was talking about earlier). Over time I've obviously found my own styleBut I am convinced that without the impact Tolkien's work had on me I would never have thought of being a writer. Or maybe yes.

• AL: Who is your favorite writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.

JP: Apart from Tolkien I would name other classics like Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke or Stanislaw Lem. More current, I would stay with Ted chiang, whose anthology the story of your life It is the best thing I have read in recent times. The science fiction It has also influenced me a lot. And as for Spanish writers, without a doubt my main choice is Jordi Sierra and Fabra.

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

JP: I would love to meet who I personally consider the best character of the fantasy genre (although also very little known): Simon Bolthead (protagonist of the saga Longings and regrets, by Tad Williams).

Is a very well built character in terms of his evolution, and that represents better than anyone that journey of growth not of the classic hero, but of the human being, in his transition from young to adult.

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

JP: Silence absolute. No music, no distractions. At most the sound of rain. Y coffee, much coffee.

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

JP: Generally my office, although when I blocking I like to take a notebook and a pen and sit on the garden. Always early in the morning, when the head still retains a bit of that drowsiness of dreams so conducive to creativity.

• AL: What does your new novel tell us, Lerna. The legacy of the minotaur?

lerna is personal adaptation of one of the Irish founding myths included in The book of the invasions of Ireland, with the particularity that I have placed it in a historical context such as the Bronze Age, and I have linked it with an exciting culture, the Minoan civilization of the king minos and the minotaur.

The story begins when starn, the youngest son of King Minos, returns to Crete and discovers that the placidity he remembered has faded: family clashes and a prophecy announcing the end of the house of the Minos threaten his future, and Starn will have to decide if he faces this threat or part together with his brother Partolón in search of a new home.

It is a Adventure novel, with heavy load epic and even touches of intrigue palatial, but above all it is a character novel, their emotions and their evolution, because that is always my hallmark.

• AL: Other genres that you like?

JP: Maybe the question should be what genres I don't like. I have read and even written almost any record, whether through novels or short stories. A little depending on the moment: science fiction, fantasy, erotic, historical, contemporary… I think that more than a question of genres, it is more a matter of good stories. The context is not that important.

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

JP: I am currently reading The voice and the sword, a fabulous historical novel by Vic Echegoyen. And I am writing, or rather checking, which is possibly my next novel. At the moment I can only reveal that I will give a jump forward in the time. A huge leap.

• AL: How do you think the publishing scene is for as many authors as there are or want to publish?

JP: The publishing world has always been a tricky guild, with or without crisis. It has some peculiarities that make it very demanding and where it is difficult to stand out or even stay. However, it is true that Possibilities that now gives us Internet it makes a lot more people consider being a writer and publishing.

Perhaps this has led to a greater competition and, incidentally, to an excess of publications, but make no mistake: publishing was always very complicated. Still, if you believe in yourself, it is possible. I and many other colleagues are the proof.

• 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 novels?

JP: It is very difficult to get something positive out of such a dramatic situation for many and that, in addition, is putting our usual way of life in check. At the publishing business level we have chained the previous economic crisis with this pandemic, which is seriously affecting the life cycle of many novels due to the impossibility of carrying out an adequate promotion. But maybe it's the possibility to reinvent yourself, to seek new paths and promote tools such as the Internet. I hope so at least.