Photography: Courtesy of Pedro Santamaría.
Pedro Santamaria is one of most popular historical novel authors of these years, considering that it began publishing in 2011 and has released new titles almost annually. All his work is set in the ancient world of Greece and Rome and different characters and periods of their stories. The last book has been At the service of the empire, published 2 years ago. And has also won Awards such as hislibris for Best Spanish Author of a Historical Novel for rebels (2015)
I thank you very much your weather, kindness and dedication for this interview where he tells us about everything a little about his first souvenirs shop literary, their authors y creative writing favorites and who have influenced him the most, his manners and hobbies as a writer and his next projects.
INTERVIEW WITH PEDRO SANTAMARÍA
- ACTUALIDAD LITERATURA: Do you remember the first book you read? And the first story you wrote?
PEDRO SANTAMARÍA: I don't remember either one or the other. The first memory of a book that I have is that of a series of Greek myths for children that my mother bought me. With them began my passion for all things greek. I remember fondly how excited I was about the Greek panoply, the Corinthian helmet, the great hoplon, the bronze breastplates. I was captivated by the adventures of Odysseus, Hercules and Jason, the Trojan War ...
Regarding the first story, I could not tell. At sixteen I wrote a story about a madhouse seventeen-story inspired by a crazy joke that told how the mildest cases were on the ground floor and the most serious ones on the top floor. On the top floor was the director's office.
- AL: What was the first book that struck you and why?
PS: It was not the first one that struck me, but it was the one that struck me the most because it led me somewhat to nihilism: The tragic sense of life, Unamuno. I have not recovered yet and I doubt that I will.
- AL: Who is your favorite writer? You can choose more than one and from all eras.
PS: I have to opt for Homer. The Iliad it has never been surpassed, nor will it be.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
PS: I would have liked to create Ignatius reilly, The conjuing of the ceciuos.
- AL: Any mania when it comes to writing or reading?
PS: Ugh, a lot. And they change over the years. Within the confessable manias I can say that now I am in phase pipes when I write. This phase has replaced the phase lollipops. I guess I have to have something in the hands and something in the mouth. A cup of coffee on the desktop is also essential, even if it is empty.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
PS: The place is always my dispatch, wherever I am (I've moved several times since I started posting). As for the moment, in the beginning I wrote more at night, until the late hours, now I get up at six in the morning. Ideas seem to flow better at that time, although I'm not entirely sure.
- AL: What writer or book has influenced your work as an author?
PS: Again, and as far as fiction is concerned, I have to resort to Iliad. The depth of text, fighting, dialogue, death always present, honor, courage, conflict ...
As for non-fiction books, I must cite the works of Joaquin Gonzalez Echegaray about ancient Cantabria. My first novel, okelaI owe it to his books that I read when I was fourteen. That, according to Strabo, Cantabria had been conquered by Spartans was something that accompanied me for years. Stories like Pena Amaya y At the Service of the Empire they also have their origin in the texts of Echegaray.
- AL: Your favorite genres besides historical?
PS: I like to read essay and philosophy. And I am passionate about development of christianity.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
PS: I am reading The Green Knight, Xavier Lawrence. A soap opera. As for writing, I just put an end to my Sack of rome. Now i'm shuffling various projects, but I think I will continue to opt for the last years of the Roman empire.
- AL: Is the moment of crisis that we are experiencing being difficult for you or will you get something positive out of it for future novels?
PS: Both. I'm having a hard time concentrating in writing since what we are experiencing is overwhelming in many ways and the feeling of uncertainty It is growing. On the other hand, it is evident that each experience serves, in one way or another, to fill that backpack that we carry inside and that sooner or later transpires and becomes letters and stories.