Photography: Pedro Martin-Romo. my real city
Pedro Martin-Romo is Ciudad Real, and since it's been a long time since I've brought a countryman author, today I want to introduce him, who in our small homeland is better known for telling us the time. He has debuted in this literature self-publishing through the Caligrama platform and it hasn't gone wrong. His novel, the first of what he hopes will be a trilogy, is titled The night the storm was born. In this interview He tells us about her and much more. And I thank her very much for the time she has dedicated to me and her kindness.
Pedro Martin-Romo. Interview
- CURRENT LITERATURE: Your last published novel is titled The night the storm was born. What can you tell us about her and where did the idea for her come from?
PEDRO MARTIN ROMO: The night the storm was born is a Novelty that we could fit perfectly within the subgenre of country noir, since it is set in a province in the interior of Spain that is not usually very prominent in literature: Ciudad Real. The idea of writing it was born from a Family food, when my grandfather began to tell us traditions and customs ancient. At first I thought of writing a non-fiction book that told those traditions, but then I thought that, as a lover of crime novels, I could use a story as an excuse to introduce them and have more potential readers.
From there, I got fully into a novel where unites the black novel with el thriller and the paranormal, understood the latter about how it is still present and rooted in the society and culture of La Mancha. And I have so much to tell that I decided to transform what was going to be a self-contained novel into a trilogy. Fortunately, the idea liked and even the work has been finalist across V Caligram Awards in the Bestseller category, which accounts for the success it has had, which, by the way, being my first novel, I did not expect!
- AL: Can you remember any of your first readings? And your first writing?
PMR: Ever since I was little I have loved reading, but I remember with great affection the saga of The five, by Enid Blyton, and adapted versions of Agatha Christie or Edgar Allan Poe. Regarding my first serious writing is a story, set at the beginning of the last century, on a girl who has a passion for books thanks to her neighbor, director of the Municipal Library of Ciudad Real who was just taking his first steps, and who, without her knowing it, sees him after he has died and gives him a message. In the end, she ends up founding the most traditional bookstore in the region.
- AL: A leading author? You can choose more than one and from all periods.
PMR: This question is difficult! Just like what happens to me with music, I don't just have an author or author, but I like many and of all kinds. For example, you could mention Wilkie collins, with some stories that are very inspiring, in addition to his work The Lady in white. Stephen King is another author that I love, with animal graveyard got me hooked I'm also passionate Shirley jacksonI recommend her We have always lived in the castle, is intriguing and disturbing, or his well-known story The lottery.
- AL: What character in a book would you have liked to meet and create?
PMR: I am going to put one that I would have liked to create, but I do not know for obvious reasons, it is Annie wilkes, the protagonist of Misery. It seems to me that he is a round character, with all the edges that a character can have covered, a paradigm for those of us who enjoy horror novels.
- AL: Any special habits or habits when it comes to writing or reading?
PMR: I don't usually write in absolute silence, many times music cheers me up and inspires me moreContrary to many authors. As a special hobby, as the first part of what is going to be a trilogy, I wrote it in full confinement, I always had by my side my pet, a rabbit called Breeze. She would often sit or cuddle up next to me as she watched me write. As she has gone so well, I feel her like my talisman and, when I start to write, I want her to always be with me.
- AL: And your preferred place and time to do it?
PM: I like it a lot. write in the afternoon, when I already have many other things or jobs done, but it is true that I have developed an unknown capacity for me to concentrate whenever, because the time I have to write is scarce and, in the end, I have gotten used to it. And I almost always write in my house, with views of much of Ciudad Real. Whether in the living room, on the sofa, or in my bedroom, I have my little corners where I feel comfortable both for writing and reading.
- AL: Are there other genres that you like?
PMR: Removing the black novel, and what this title encompasses, I also read on occasion boobs and especially historical novel, although I don't disgust anything.
- AL: What are you reading now? And writing?
PMR: Right now I have in my hands I, Tituba, the black witch of Salem, whose author is Maryse Condé. In between, I'm reading the stories he tells Svetlana Alexievich en War does not have the face of a woman, where she recounts the brutal experiences of women in the Soviet Union during World War II.
Answering the second question, I have finished reviewing the second part of the trilogy and, in order not to get bored, I have begun to flirt with the third part, although I have only been writing for a short time because I am fully documenting myself.
- AL: How do you think the publishing scene is and what encouraged you to publish?
PMR: I think there is a huge offer of works and that publishers must receive a huge amount, so surely, by having to make a big filter, good works will be lost along the way. Is very complicated to become part of a large publishing house, although never impossible, and I think that if you find a good small or medium-sized publishing house that moves and works well, you can have a success that, perhaps, a large one would not provide you with.
In my specific case, as it was the first novel I published, I opted for self-publishing with Caligrama. To make it known, I have used the social networks, which have been my great allies —especially thanks to the fact that I already had some experience in them because I publish the weather forecasts for the province of Ciudad Real for years – and I am more than satisfied with what has been achieved. For the second part, it will most likely be with a traditional editorial, or so I hope! Above all, what moves me to publish is the desire to share the stories I had in my head and to show what my land is like. I am very impatient and could not keep them in a drawer.
- AL: Is the moment of crisis we are experiencing being difficult for you or can you keep something positive for future stories or ideas?
PMR: To get something positive out of the pandemic, the confinement was the one it made me have so much more time to write The night the storm was born and give him the big push he needed. And, on the other hand, I believe that many times great ideas are drawn from these crisis situations, although it is better to promote creativity in other more friendly ways.