Photography. Jesús Valero, Twitter profile.
jesus valero is from San Sebastián, Doctor in Biological Sciences and is currently in charge of Tecnalia, the largest private R&D center in southern Europe. Y in his spare time he writes. With special interest in ancient history and the Middle Ages, it premiered in literature with Invisible light and now you have the second part, The echo of the shadows. Thank you very much for your time and kindness dedicated to this interview.
Jesús Valero - Interview
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: The echo of the shadows is your latest novel and the continuation of Invisible light. What do you tell us in it?
JESÚS VALERO: It's a history counted in three times. Marta, an art restorer, finds an old book. It is the diary of Jean, a strange character who lived in the XNUMXth century. In my novel we will follow the adventures of both, who try to hide and discover a ancient relic from the time of Jesus Christ. Soon they will both know that they are putting their lives at risk and that the ancient relic is an object that has always been coveted by the church. The reader will discover a historical thriller, perfectly set, and will travel with the protagonists ancient monasteries and scriptorium trying to discover the keys that are hidden in ancient churches and manuscripts.
- AL: Can you remember that first book you read? And the first story you wrote?
JV: I suppose it would be some story of the five or Hollister. Then I quickly immersed myself in the adventure books of Verne o Salgari before discovering at the age of ten a book that made me want to write: The Lord of the Rings. The first story I have written has been Invisible light. It took me almost twenty years to imagine and write it. That is why, despite being a new writer, it is a very elaborate book with a very complex plot but easy to follow.
- AL: A head writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.
JV: In my youth without a doubt Tolkien . Then in adulthood I try to read everything, any author and genre. It helps me learn and then tell better stories. If I have to say who are my favorite writers, I would say Murakami and Paul Auster. Of the Spanish writers I could point out many, but I would highlight how much I have learned from Perez-Reverte about how he treats the always difficult action scenes.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
JV: It is difficult to choose one. Maybe i would say Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings. He is a mixture of an adventure protagonist who is true to his vision of the world, who has a goal in life and struggles to achieve it, but is not willing to do it in any way. Have a code of honor very own. One of the protagonists of Invisible light, the black knight, despite being different, has some of those traits that are so interesting to me.
- AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading?
JV: I I write by hand, before in notebook, now in a device which allows me to continue doing it but gives me the advantage that it then processes my handwriting and digitizes it directly. Later, in the corrections, I also do it on paper and only when I have smudged the manuscript do I introduce the changes on the computer, something that I obsessively repeat countless times.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
JV: I need a lot of noise around me. I write in coffee shops, airports and restaurants when I travel. I'm just looking for the silence to correct. In recent years I also usually write in a boat during the holidays. Almost a third of The echo of the shadows it is written throughout a month that I was browsing.
- AL: Are there other genres that you like?
JV: I like almost everything. The genre doesn't really matter much to me, I can read historical novels, crime novels, fantasy, science fiction or novels without gender. I learn from everything and I think it helps me tell better stories. Actually what interests me is constantly changing writersI absorb different things from each one.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
JV: Now I am reading some classics. Right now i'm reading Memories of Hadrian by Margarite Yourcenar and the previous one has been Abroad by Albert Camus, which I wanted to read in its original version in French. Regarding what I am writing, at the moment I advance with my new novel, which does not yet have a title but will close the loop from The invisible light and The echo of the shadows. I hope to finish it by the end of the year, although it depends on whether I can write a lot this summer. I already have in mind three other stories I want to tell, but I will not decide on one of them until I finish the previous one and deliver it to the publisher.
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is? Many authors and few readers?
JV: Maybe I am not a good example of the situation. Publishing my two novels has not been a nightmare for me. I had not published before nor did I know anyone in the publishing world, but my manuscript immediately attracted the attention of Pablo Álvarez, my Editabundo agent. Once this was the case, everything went very fast and Carmen Romero from Penguin Random House said yes as soon as she read it. I know that for other authors everything has been much more complicated and perhaps it may also be for me in the future. Living from writing is very complicated, only a few can do it, and I am not obsessed with that happening. I like my job and writing will continue to be something that I love but that I do without pressure.
- 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?
JV: I adapt well to any situation and I have not experienced this especially bad COVID. I have an advantage: I am a microbiologist and I understand what happens and what can happen more naturally than most people. This is all temporary and we will soon return to our normal lives. What I am clear about is that the situation is not going to be a source of inspiration for my novels, I am not very interested in the subject from that point of view. There are much better things to write about.