Interview with Alejandra G. Remón

N.: What inspired you to start writing Cuando nadie mira (When No One Is Looking)?
A.R.: My first book never thought of being a book. Perhaps that explains its charm and its success. "When No One Is Looking" was a compilation of writings and experiences told over many years that were resting quietly in many of my notebooks and diaries. The real adventure was throwing them into the light and that happened as a result of a failed publishing proposal that opened my eyes up to that possibility.

N.: Was it hard to find a publisher?
A.R.: The truth is that it was a bit, but less than I would have imagined. I sent a lot of e-mails and I met with several of them until I found the one who really trusted in my talent and my work. The truth is I couldn’t have had better luck because both my editor and my imprint, Lunwerg, are among the most highly appreciated at a national and international level in illustration and photography.

N.: "Todas aquellas veces y otros asuntos pendientes" (All Those Times and Other Pending Is-sues), "A pesar de todo, te pienso"(Despite Everything, I Think About You)… do you draw inspiration from your own life?
A.R.: Hahaha! Yes, I am inspired by my own experiences and also by those of the people around me. I think everything has a story behind it and a learning moment. Anything, from a conversation to a book, from a photo to a landscape, oozes inspiration or keeps some secret that deserves to be told. There’s a special magic in sharing sensations and reflections; I wouldn’t know how to describe it really, but in the same way that it helps others to understand themselves, it helps me to free myself. We all win, I suppose.

N.: We know there’s a lot of music behind your work. What was the soundtrack for your latest publication?
A.R.: Each one of my books is written at a specific moment in my life and, in the same way as happens in any of our lives, its soundtrack changes somehow as you discover new artists. In my last book, Despite Everything, I Think About You, there is a lot of jazz, relaxed sounds, French songs.

N.: What are you reading at the moment?
A.R.: Apropos of Nothing, by Woody Allen. Hilarious. I love this character’s comic perspective and the way he has of solving and handling even the darkest moments through humour. Sometimes I get lost with the incessant listing of the names of the people who have appeared throughout the length and breadth of his existence but aside from that, I think it’s magnificent.

N.: What is your greatest achievement to date?
A.R.: My greatest achievements to date are my three books and doing what I am most passionate about: creating.

N.: What would you be today or what would you like to be if you weren’t a writer?
A.R.: Well, I’d probably be doing something like restoring old furniture or something to do with fashion, which I’ve dedicated almost fifteen years of my life to. :)