A tantalizing adventure, The Lost Thorn takes on the traditional pillars of cyberpunk and shatters them with a fresh gush of inspired and playful narrative. Fast-paced and grim, this book and its characters scramble the contrasts of the modern world, a testament to the crumbling norms of a society where both body and mind have become mere tools for absolute markets.
1.
What inspired you to write The Lost Thorn?
I'm the kind of writer that begins with
a character, rather than with a story. I remember Samanth was the fist thing
that came to my mind, she was at the same time a reflection of myself and a
character inspired by many girls in my life. The idea I had for her, along with
a passion for magic and science fiction, eventually mixed together to come up
with the setting and story behind The Lost Thorn.
2.
What was the development process like?
One of my favorite writers is
Gabriel García Marquez.
When I started writing and I was trying to find a “rhythm” for my own writing I
read an interview he had, where he was asked this same question. And the answer
he gave inspired me and stuck with me ever since. He used the word 'ruminate'
to describe his writing, and that's the same way I would describe my own
creative process. When I have an idea, I spend a long time just 'thinking'
about that idea, ruminating. It can be anywhere from a few days to weeks or
even months, until one day I just sit down and write for extremely long amounts
of time, until those thoughts are depleted and the process starts all over
again.
3.
Did you do any kind of research for this book?
Yes, lots. That 'ruminating' phase
includes research too, which for The Lost Thorn implied traveling around my
city, learning about the customs of my own people and those who lived before
me, and of course, reading the “big names” of the genre I was aiming for,
namely titles like “Neuromancer” or “Do androids dream of electric sheep?”
4.
This is an interesting story. What genre would
you put this in?
I like to say it's a “Cyberpunk” story.
However I usually classify it in the broader “Science Fiction” category, simply
because I did take some liberties when writing the story in my own personal
style and when setting it against a Latin American locale.
5.
What do you hope readers will gain from your
book?
Mainly I hope they will have a good time
and a couple of laughs. I think The Lost Thorn is a
novel with heavy social commentary. I also think it could be explored from a
psychoanalytical point of view, through the eyes of madness and sanity. I also
think it's a political
critique and a literary blend of fantasy and science fiction. However all this
is just me, and the reader might aswell ignore all that and just enjoy
Samantha's terrible puns. I think that's the beauty of literature: You don't
take what the author wants you to take, you take what you want to take. So all
I want is that my readers enjoy their read.
6.
What do you like best and what do you like least
about being a writer?
What I like best has to be having an
excuse to learn about many different topics, travel to the strangest of places
or try the weirdest of things. What I like the least is probably how hard it is
to put something “out there”. I think that what I like the least is the
“business” part of it, where you try to market and sell the product of your
effort.
7.
Who are some of your favorite authors?
García Marquez as I said earlier, Jim
Butcher, Akira Toriyama, If you count mangakas, William Gibson, Ragnar Tonquist
and Oscar Wilde, are some of my favorite.
8.
If your book would be turned into a movie, who
would you imagine playing the part of the main character? (Actor can be ANYONE,
living or dead.)
Oh this is a tough question… When I
daydream about it… (That's not weird, is it?) I usually imagine The Lost Thorn
as an animation, rather than as a feature film. But I if was a live action
film, I'd say maybe someone like Chloe Moretz or the girl from David Fincher's “The
girl with the dragon tattoo”. I know they are diametrically different actors,
but I think each would be able to portray Samantha in a different light.
9.
Are you working on anything right now?
Yes. I'm working on the second novel in
the series and I'm also working on a startup company to help local authors from Ecuador put their books
online.
10.
And, finally, what do you think is in store for
the future of Latino literature?
Ah… This may be the hardest question. I
don't know to be honest. I feel like there are two strong “currents” for Latin
American literature. One that sticks to the classics. To the style of authors
like Cortazar or Borges. And one that is moving towards the alluring stream of
globalization and trying to fit in the global market a la Bestsellers like
Harry Potter or Hunger Games. I think that both are valid and I think that only
time will tell where we end up.
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