Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews. My name is Fiona Mcvie.
Let’s get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age?
Hello Fiona, my name is Lluís Carrera. I’m 51.
Fiona: Where are you from?
Lluís: I am from Catalonia, which it’s in an interesting moment because many people is asking for its independence from Spain.
Fiona: A little about yourself (ie, your education, family life, etc.).
Lluís: My education is more economic than literary, because I studied companies’ administration, but I didn’t finished my degree because when I was young I had to work many hours and it was very difficult to do both things simultaneously. I’ve been working in my current company for 25 years as an office worker in a steel transforming company specialized in automotive. I got married in 1994 and I have a daughter of 20 years old.
Fiona: Tell us your latest news.
Lluís: A friend of my daughter is drawing a cover for my new novel Ciutadania alienígena (Alien citizenship), I hope to publish it very soon.
Fiona: When and why did you begin writing?
Lluís: I’ve been writing poems since I was a teenager as a way to express my feelings, making up stories.
Fiona: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Lluís: I’m not sure of considering myself a writer yet, because I’m not a professional.
Fiona: What inspired you to write your first book?
Lluís: I remember that I was in Poitiers (France) and I watched on news that Amy Winehouse was found dead, she was 27 and I was 45 at that moment and found that I hadn’t done anything special. I couldn’t sleep that night and I started to make up a story in my mind, eight months later I finished a 500 pages novel.
Fiona: How did you come up with the title?
Lluís: It was very difficult to decide the title; I proved four or five before choosing my favorite.
Fiona: Do you have a specific writing style? Is there anything about your style or genre that you find particularly challenging?
Lluís: I like to experiment different styles, because it’s an opportunity to improve my written language, even I do my own translations because my mother tongue is Catalan. I have many projects in my computer’s hard disk, there are tales and poems and the beginning of different novels.
Fiona: How much of the book is realistic and are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Lluís: I try to use my imagination and not write about my own life, for me it’s a way to live internally new experiences. For me it’s very important to feel identified with my characters, because they are alive for me while I write.
Fiona: To craft your works, do you have to travel? Before or during the process?
Lluís: Sometimes I use references of places where I have been, but I don’t travel to a specific location to write my novels or poems.
Fiona: Who designed the covers?
Lluís: My first cover is a photograph that I took of Florence’s sky and worked with colors. The second and third are draws from friends that helped me. The next will be different because I gave the person total freedom to draw in her own style and design the whole cover.
Fiona: Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
Lluís: Sometimes I send messages to readers about ecology, peace or politics…about freedom and feelings.
Fiona: Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest? Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
Lluís: In the last years I discovered great authors, most of them are “indies”, Elisabeth Marx, Lucca Rossi, Malika Gandhi, Mercedes Pinto…nowadays my favorite writer is Taylor Fulks, her novel “My prison without bars…” was my first long book in English that I read and it was shocking for me because her direct style and her hard story, I discovered how a home can become a hell, I cried, I was scared…Taylor is a reference for me, she’s a great author and a great person.
Fiona: Outside of family members, name one entity that supported your commitment to become a published author.
Lluís: I think that the only entity that promoted me in some way was the primary school of my daughter.
Fiona: Do you see writing as a career?
Lluís: No, hahaha, I have my job, writing is what I like to do.
Fiona: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
Lluís: Maybe, but I closed the story, now I want to work on new projects and don’t look at the past.
Fiona: Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?
Lluís: Of course, to give credibility to my books I always look for useful information about different subjects.
Fiona: If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
Lluís: Maybe Christian Bale and Sarah jones
Fiona: Any advice for other writers?
Lluís: To not pay attention to advices.
Fiona: Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
Lluís: Just live the story, play with you imagination and make yours the book.
Fiona: What book are you reading now?
Lluís: “Essay on Lucidity”, by the Portuguese Nobel Prize José Saramago.
Fiona: Do you remember the first book you read?
Lluís: No, hahaha, I am too old, maybe “Lazarillo de Tormes”
Fiona: What makes you laugh/cry?
Lluís: I laugh a lot when I found funny some situation, maybe with weird situations as you can find for example in the novels of Tom Shape (Wilt). And I cry when the author is able to transmit me his/her grief in the story.
Fiona: Is there one person, past or present, you would love to meet? Why?
Lluís: Robin Williams, to ask him what was wrong, I got shocked when my “captain” died.
Fiona: Do you have any hobbies?
Lluís: Apart of writing? Ok, I like a lot to travel and discover new things, and talk to people from many countries, it’s for me the best way to learn about life.
Fiona: What TV shows/films do you enjoy watching?
Lluís: I’m a fan of “House” and “CSI Las Vegas”, specially the oldest chapter, and of course “Star Wars” is a reference for me, I have seen all the films many times.
Fiona: Favorite foods, colors, music?
Lluís: I like many kinds of food, maybe my favorite one is the “Bacalao al ajoarriero” cooked with cod. For me I like dress blue shirts, and I like a lot yellow blouses in women. Music? Yes, hard rock, AC/DC, Deep Purple, Van Halen…the great ones; but I like also another styles in different degrees.
Fiona: Imagine a future where you no longer write. What would you do?
Lluís: Stop writing? Perhaps, but not now. If I ever stop writing maybe I decide to learn new languages as German or Polish.
Fiona: What do you want written on your head stone?
Lluís: I don’t want a head stone, I have an insurance where is stated that I’ll be incinerated to return my ashes to the air and the ground where they come.
Fiona: Do you have a blog or website readers can visit for updates, events and special offers?
Lluís: A friend of mine is helping me about it, at this moment you can access to links where you can buy my books.
Webpage: http://lluis-carrera.esy.es/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Llu%C3%ADs-Carrera-AutorAuthor-815692971855395/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lluiskr
Bubok: http://www.bubok.es/autores/lluiskr
https://www.amazon.es/thousand-miles-English-Lluis-Carrera-ebook/dp/B015KX2JSM
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