Happy Birthday to author and good friend, Ana Galvan (Check her out on Instagram @anagalvan_writes) who’s holding her newest book baby— The Other Side of the Sky, a very compelling sci-fi read with strong female characters!
To celebrate her special day, Ana shares her passion for reading and writing with us!
*What books are on your nightstand?
The books have
spilled onto the floor but on the nightstand per se I have Portnoy’s Complaint by Phillip Roth because everybody said how
nasty it was, The Mysteries of Udolpho,
because it's the beginning of the Gothic novel, La Isla Bajo el Mar, because I always have a book in Spanish and I
found it at the San Pablo Library bookstore and finally The Ensemble, because it was on my Amazon list and I found it for
free at the Contra Costa County library.
*What’s your favorite book of all time?
Anna Karenina or The Goldfinch
*Which books got you hooked on reading? On
Writing?
On reading I
would have to say the Spanish classics: The
Poem of the Cid, Life and Adventures
of Lazarillo de Tormes, and whatever was assigned in school. In the summer
I would read more classics but also titles I heard my classmates talking about
that were more age oriented. On writing it wasn’t really a book, it was more a
need to cleanse myself from a bad marriage, that’s what inspired The Contents of Desire, then I was
hooked on writing.
*Who’s your favorite fictional character?
Rebecca in the
book of the same name. I find this character intriguing, unconventional and
daring.
*In your opinion, what qualities make a great
novel?
Characters you
love or hate. Characters
make you care what happens next.
*What books might we be surprised to find on
your shelves?
If you knew me,
you wouldn’t be surprised by any of the books on my shelves.
*If you were to write a memoir, what aspect of
your life would you focus on?
The adventure
of migrating to the US
*Who’s your favorite historical character?
Marie Curie,
could be Cleopatra or Queen Isabel of Spain (although she was too religious for
my taste)
*Who’s your favorite childhood literary
character or hero?
Heidi, but I
have to confess I didn’t read the books. I watched the cartoons.
*What book have you read again and again and
why?
The Time in
Between in Spanish and English. I love the Spanish version and I wondered about
the translation into Spanish. As it turns out I loved it as well. Translation
is an art.
*What’s the best book you ever received as a
gift?
Don Quijote de la Mancha
*What’s the best book you have ever given as a
gift?
The Story of O. It was
fun to give.
*Which is a book you’ve read that you wished you
had written?
Call Me by Your Name
*If you could meet any writer, dead or alive,
who would it be and why?
Hemingway, because I am convinced he met my
grandfather in Spain while he was reporting on the (Spanish) Civil War and my grandfather
worked at the famous bar Chicote. I usually don’t want to meet authors. It
kills the magic.
