Photography: María Latorre, Facebook profile.
Maria Latorre writes romantic novels and stories for adults and has already had a few titles published as A family in the works, Touching the sky o Pleasures. The last one is titled barefoot among roots. I really appreciate your time and dedication to this interview which I post today.
Mary Latorre. Interview
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: Your last published novel is Barefoot among roots. What do you tell us about it and where did the idea come from?
MARÍA LATORRE: It is the story of Lola, a young woman who has always lived in the Andalusian mountains and who, after the death of her mother, goes to live with her father in Catalonia. From living in a cabin in the middle of the woods, she becomes the daughter of a bourgeois vintner and in the face of this clash, he will resolve not to lose his essence, no matter what happens. When you come across Cesc Ribelles, an employee of his father, will begin to have doubts about what he is really trying to protect and what he is missing by clinging to the past.
The idea arose almost twenty years ago, in a story I wrote for a contest in my city. In it two characters came out of which I wanted to explain more stuff. They were the ones who would later become Lola and Cesc. They whispered their story to me for a long time and I realized that what they were telling me was in the form of a novel. I didn't feel ready to write it, so I signed up for Érika Gael's romantic novel course —the best thing I could do for my life as a writer— and it was there that I finally began to shape it.
- AL: Can you remember any of your first readings? And the first story you wrote?
ML: The first story that I had was called Marta and it was about a little girl who wanted to grow up, a little bit backwards from Peter Pan. I remember it vividly because I felt like her. Years later they gave me The princess of the elves, by Sally Scott, and it was the ultimate fuel for my writing self.
The first stories that I wrote as a child are scattered on wrapping paper and pages ripped from my school notebooks. The one I remember the most is the story of a deer that was trapped in the roots of a tree. Yet I keep some of them.
- AL: A head writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.
ML: Two writers who greatly influenced me in my teens were JDSalinger and Federico García Lorca. But I think she would not be the same writer without Flannery O'Connor, Jose Luis Sampedro, Pilar Pedraza, Miguel Delibes, Marisa Sicilia, Gianni Rodari, Érika Gael or Jesús Carrasco, among others.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
ML: Many! But right now, the first thing that comes to mind is Tyrion Lannister. When I read the books years ago I was fascinated by his edges and his humanity, always between good and evil, a born survivor.
- AL: Any special hobby or habit when it comes to writing or reading?
ML: When I write I need background music, in tune with the story I have in hand. I don't have any special habit of reading, I usually read whenever I have free time, that's why lately I do it a lot on my mobile phone.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
ML: My favorite place to write is outdoors, with a laptop or a notebook, and my time is in the morning. I don't have a favorite place or time to read, I think that any place and any time are ideal to do it.
- AL: Are there other genres that you like?
ML: Yes, I think there are wonderful stories in all genres. In general, I don't go by the genre of the novel to choose a reading, I usually do it by the synopsis or by the recommendations of people whose criteria I trust.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
ML: I'm reading Translator, de Jose Gil Romero and Goretti Irisarri, and I'm writing a short novel that could be classified as sentimental.
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is?
ML: In crisis. The raw materials for the books in paper are through the roof, the commodification of literature is imposed on its quality, the piracy impossible to contain, new authors have few opportunities, publishers are mostly still anchored in practices that no longer make sense and that slow down the growth of their authors, social networks are throwing us off center...
However if there is a crisis, there are opportunities for change, for evolution and hopefully we take advantage of them to improve the conditions of all and in favor of literature. We authors and authors want to have more control over our careers and that is already changing many things.
- AL: Is the moment of crisis that we are experiencing being difficult for you or can you keep something positive for future stories?
ML: I'm left with many positive things, of course. With the people I have met along the way and the good and the not so good that they have given me, above all. Of the human relations is where it largely comes from my inspiration.