My guest today is author Carmen Ferreiro Esteban
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Galicia (northern Spain), a land of rolling hills and green valleys surrounded by the ocean, thought in medieval times to be ‘Finisterre,’ the place where the world came to an end. I have a Ph.D. in Biology and worked in research for over ten years. Currently I work as a freelance writer and translator (English<>Spanish).
My YA fantasy, Two Moon Princess, about my experiences living between two worlds (Spain and California) was published in 2007 by Tanglewood Press. Its sequel, The King in the Stone has been accepted for publication also by Tanglewood Press. I have also published four non-fiction books Heroin, Ritalin, Mad Cow Disease, and Lung Cancer (Chelsea House).
When reading for fun, I read Young Adult books, especially Historical Fiction and Fantasy.
What is your latest published work?
Two Moon Princess, a YA novel, published in 2007 by Tanglewood Press. It was recognized with the bronze award in the Juvenile fiction category by ForeWord Magazine. The blurb for Two Moon Princess reads like this:
'A Spanish Princess. An American Boy. A King set on revenge. An unrequited love and a disturbing family secret bring a World to the brink of War.'
Where do you get your ideas from?
I would say, in most instances, I get my ideas from my past. Both Two Moon Princess and The King in the Stone tell a personal story.
Although the blurb for Two Moon Princess (see above) underlines the fantasy aspects of the book, Two Moon Princess is a coming of age story. It is the story of a girl, Princess Andrea, who grows up in a patriarchal society where girls have no power, and thus no choice. Andrea discovers a portal into another world. In this world, modern day California, she has the freedom to become whoever she wants to be. So it is no wonder than when, by accident, she returns to her own world she will spend all her energy trying to go back. Not only to save the life of the Californian boy she has brought with her and that her father wants to kill, but for her own need to be free. How is this fantasy story personal? I grew up in a very patriarchal society. And I know by experience that, once you taste freedom, you can’t go back.
In The King in the Stone, the sequel to Two Moon Princess, Andrea goes back in time to the year 718 BC in northern Spain. So, in a way it is a historical fiction book. But it’s also a story about love and loss. And that part is personal. The King in the Stone has yet to be published so I won’t say any more.
My ideas also come from places I love. The door between worlds in Two Moon Princess is a broken arch in a beach in northern Spain (http://www.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on the first draft of a Young Adult novel tentatively called, Requiem for a King, a story of love and revenge, friendship and betrayal set in an imaginary medieval world. Here is the pitch for Requiem for a King:
'In the days following her mother’s death, Princess Ines remembers her growing up with Nowan, the boy she came to love despite their class differences and that now, accused of the queen’s murder, awaits execution in the castle’s dungeon.'
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
The paperback edition of Two Moon Princess will be coming out in the spring of 2010. Instead of the whimsy cover of the hardcover edition, the paperback edition will have the picture of a girl in a medieval costume in the cover. I‘d love to know which cover your readers prefer. They can see both on my blog entrance: A Book by Any Other Cover at www.onpublishing.wordpress.com
You may contact me through my website www.carmenferreiroesteban.com
For my take on writing and publishing (and those of two other authors), please visit our blog: www.onpublishing.wordpress.com
For book reviews and authors’ interviews see: http://carmenferreiroesteban.
0 comments:
Post a Comment