A dearest friend and soulmate in the same situation of living out of one's country, C.M. Mayo  tagged me for this blog round robin. The purpose of this questionnaire is to bring light to one´s work and keep updated on what so many authors are working right now.  

Some of the previous names that have been participating in this fun exercise is  Karren Alenier, Sammy Greenspan and Bernadette Geyer.

So here are the questions and, of course, my answers.

Ten Interview Questions for the Next Big Thing:

1. What is your working title of your book (or story)?

I´m currently working on two books. The first one is an anthology of Latin American  story tellers that are either Jews or have Arabic ascendance. The title is Delta de las arenas, cuentos árabes, cuentos judíos.

The second project  is a book short stories and it´s called El Agua que Mece el Silencio.

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

Well, more than an idea, it´s in my blood. Some years ago I put together a collection of writers that had Arabic ascendance. That gave me the idea to move into short stories and include jews authors to create a dialogue in the realm of literature.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Anthology / fiction / short stories.

The book of short stories would also be a fiction book of short stories

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Why not Cate Blanchet? Or Clive Owen? The beauty of imagination is that we can dream of anything, can´t we?

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

a.     An anthology of Arabic and Jewish writers living in Latin America

b.     In progress. I still need to come out with an appealing one-sentence synopsis

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Both of them will be submitted to some publisher houses.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

a.     It´s been a year to have all the short stories ready

b.     Well, the book of short stories has been a project that I abandoned when I started it long ago in 2006. My 2013 resolution was to finally finish it!

8. What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

a.     I don´t think there´s an anthology like this one in Latin America

b.     I wouldn't compare it with any other book. I would with a film titled The Fall. When I watched it, I had already won an award from one of the short stories that belong to that book.

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?

a.     My grandparents are from Lebanon, so the subject of the Middle East is really familiar to me. I simply had to work on something like this.

b.     When my daughter visited Lebanon in 2006 she almost got trapped in the middle of a bombarded country due to the war, which made me conceive a book where I could canalize the horror I went through.

10. What else about your book might pique the reader's interest?

a)  There´s not such an anthology like this one in Latin America.

b)  I hope my writing!

---> Katheleen Alcalá