By
Dora
Machado
I’m
so pleased to have Mayra Calvani visiting with us today. Her latest book, Latina
Authors & Their Muses is a
breakthrough exploration of the writing craft and the ways in which authors
find their inspiration and channel their creativity.
Hello
Mayra and thank you for visiting with us at MB4. Congratulations on your latest
book, Latina Authors & Their Muses.
What is it about and why did you decide to write it?
Thanks for having me on your blog, Dora! Latina Authors and Their Muses is a very
dear, love project of mine which began its long journey several years ago. As
you know, since you’re part of it, it is an anthology of interviews with 40
Latina authors living in the States and writing primarily in English, authors
writing in various genres from literary to fantasy to paranormal to romance,
and then some. It is a celebration of creativity and the artist’s soul, but it
also offers savvy advice on the business of publishing and book promotion. I
hope that my book will serve to inspire and inform the Latina authors of the
future. One thing I should mention, though, is that while the book is
especially focused on Latina writers, the topics discussed are of interest to
all women writers.
I was inspired by another collection of interviews
edited by a person I deeply admire and once had the chance to invite to my
house for dinner: Carmen Dolores Hernández, book review editor of El Nuevo Día newspaper in Puerto Rico.
The book is titled Puerto Rican Voices in
English. Carmen sent me a copy and I loved reading about the various
authors. I immediately toyed with the idea of putting together a similar tome.
This was way back in 2005.
How
many authors did you interview and what kind of questions did you ask?
As I mentioned, I interviewed 40 Latina authors
writing in different genres and in different stages of their careers, from new
writers with a debut novel to established, well-known names with a long track
record. I was particularly interested in their childhoods and what events or
people were influential in them becoming authors. I was also especially
interested in what it means to be a “professional” or “successful” author and
the part money plays in this equation. There are also questions about the
creative process, craft, balancing writing with life, the psychology of writing
(the “price” we have to pay for being artists, isolation, and guilt), their
books, agents, publishers, and book promotion.
The book is also a chock-full of resources in terms of
organizations, award competitions, agents, journals and publications catering
to not only Hispanic authors but also authors in general.
What
did you discover about Latina Authors and their muses? What surprised you?
I was surprised by how different the journey has been
for each author. For some, finding an agent and getting published by one of the
big NY houses was fairly quick and easy. For others, it has taken many years.
We all love the romantic notion of a Muse but, at the
end, it’s all about commitment, determination, persistence, relentless passion,
and hard work that makes most authors succeed. I was inspired, and humbly
impressed by this remarkable group of women who’ve become, in fact, my Muses.
Thank
you so much for sharing this extraordinary journey with us, Mayra. Thank you
also for allowing me to be a small part of this grand, visionary project.
Thank you for this opportunity, Dora! I truly
appreciate it!
About
Mayra Calvani
Mayra Calvani writes
fiction and nonfiction for children and adults and has authored over a dozen
books, some of which have won awards. Her stories, reviews, interviews and
articles have appeared on numerous publications such as The Writer, Writer’s
Journal, Multicultural Review, and Bloomsbury Review,
among many others. In addition, she’s a regular contributor to Blogcritics.org
and Examiner.com. She’s traveled extensively and lived in three continents, but
now calls Belgium her home. When she’s not writing, reading, editing or
reviewing, she enjoys walking her dog, traveling, and spending time with her
family.
About Dora
Machado
Dora Machado is
the award-winning author of the epic fantasy Stonewiser series and her newest
novel, The Curse Giver, available
from Twilight Times Books. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, where she
developed a fascination for writing and a taste for Merengue. After a lifetime
of straddling such compelling but different worlds, fantasy is a natural fit to
her stories.
When
she is not writing fiction, Dora also writes features for Murder By Four, an
award winning blog for readers and writers and Savvy Authors, where writers
help writers. She lives in
Florida with her indulgent husband and two very opinionated cats. To learn more
about Dora Machado and her award winning novels, visit her at www.doramachado.com.
Thank you Dora, I enjoyed reading this post.
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