Tamara Valdés, a reader from Mexico, asks:

    After Confesiones eróticas y otros hechizos (Erotic Confessions and Other Spells), no other poetry collection of yours has appeared. Is it because you haven't written any more poetry, or because you haven't wanted to publish it? 
    After that poetry collection, I found myself working on novels for "The Occult Side of Havana" series. I still write poems once in a while, but I don't know when I'll publish another poetry collection. In contrast to prose, poetry is very unpredictable. 

    After your arrival in the United States, your books became clearly more political though you didn't abandon fiction completely. What is attributed to this chage? 
    Surely, the socio-political element didn't appear in my earlier books. When I got to the United States, I started to write a series of novels where I used a fantasy approach to show the Cuban situation in a different light. In these novels, the protagonists are obsessed with spiritual journeys and paranormal or mystical experiences. And what happens is that the social context in which these experiences are produced, being very real, turns out to be just as weird as the fantasy element placed as a contrast. My intention was for the reader to become just as confused and deceived by both, and would feel that the Cuban reality is more surreal than fantasy itself. 

      Which Cuban authors of your generation do you feel that you have affinities with (thematic, formal, spiritual, etc.)? 
      I have a great fondness for many that I am friendly with, and I admire their works, but I don't believe that I have any thematic or formal affinities with any of them. We all write with different styles and focuses. 
 

Mercedes Cortázar, a reader from Miami, asks: 

      What did you do specifically in order to get published for the first time? 
      Although I have been writing since I was a girl, I never thought about being a writer. Even when I was in college, my mother told me that a national science fiction contest had just opened; the first one in Cuba. She was the one that told me to put some stories together to enter in the contest. I didn't have anything to lose, she insisted, because they were already written. And that's what I did. This book won the prize, which included publication of the work. 
 

José A. Valle, a reader from Miami, asks: 

      How can an author who has a well-written book get it published without being well known or belonging to the regularly selected group? 
      My advice is to not give up knocking on doors: enter contests, get in touch with editors and literary agents... But first, I'll let you in on a secret: sometimes one thinks that he or she has achieved something great, but that may not be the case. This happens even to published authors. Ask your friends' opinions, those you consider good readers and with whom you have similar literary views. This is important. If you friend hates gothic literature and you write horror stories, he or she could never give you an objective opinion. Once you find this friend or potential reader (if you have more than one, better yet), ask him or her if they like your text or not. Don't get defensive when they tell you honestly why they didn't like a scene or a character. Instead, give the same text to another friend and repeat the question. Simply allow this other friend to give his opinion. If they coincide, don't act like a victim. Instead of feeling misunderstood by all humanity, work on the text as much as you can... and don't stop doing so while looking for an editor, an agent, or entering it in contests. In other words: don't give up on a text in any way, shape, or form. 
 

Mercy Ares, a reader from Miami, asks: 

      Apart from El hombre, la hembra y el hambre, Casa de juegos, and Gata encerrada, which are already part of my collection of Cuban authors, where can I find other titles you have published?
      The fiction and science fiction titles published in Cuba are sold out and cannot be found anywhere, except for Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre, which was just published in Mexico and is beginning to be distributed in the United States through Barnes & Noble. I understand that it will soon be in Puerto Rico as well. You can find País de dragones in the United States at the same chain or at others like Borders. At my web site ( www.dainachaviano.com) there are links to some of those sites. A general suggestion: sometimes certain books aren't on the shelves because they are out and they have forgotten to restock them. If you order one, the bookstore will find it for you. 
 

Alejandro Cavalli, a reader from Argentina, asks: 

      Who are the owners of your world? 
      Fairytales, magicians, artists from all time periods, great thinkers in science. 

      Do you think Fidel Castro reads your books? 
      I have no idea. 

      What do you think about literature written in "Spanglish"? 
      Although I read often in both languages, when I read Shakespeare, I like to read it in English, and if I'm reading Cervantes, I like that it's purely in Spanish. 
 

José María Sánchez Escudero, a reader from Argentina, asks: 

      I wanted to ask you how I should go about proposing revision/publication of stories I have written. What is your experience with this? Two of my stories have won awards and many more. Currently I'm holding back with contests. What is your advice? Many thanks. 
      If you are talking about stories only, I would recommend that you select the ones you think are the best and put them into a book. Currently, it is very difficult to publish stories. I know of an excellent author that was able to publish a book of stories only after a publisher accepted his first novel. But don't get disappointed. Enter your book in contests that include publication. That's another way to get published, if you have a little bit of luck. 
 

Ania Loveira, a reader from New York, asks: 

      Can you mention any books by contemporary Cuban authors you have read? Which would you recommend to those interested in current Cuban literature written on or off the island?
      As for authors living on the island, I have read Las comidas profundas, by José Antonio Ponte. Among Cubans living in exile I remember the novel Al otro lado, by Yanitzia Canetti, Aprendices de brujo, by Antonio Orlando Rodríguez (just published by Alfaguara in Colombia), and Te devolverán las mareas, by Andrés Jorge. But there are other names that could be of interest. I don't dare recommend much because I believe the reader should look for what he or she could be interested in. I suggest that you consult information on Cuban authors at two sites: the "Autores" section at www.literaturacubana.com and the "Literatura Cubana en el Exilio" section at www.red-literaria.com. I think that both have extensive information that could serve as a guide. 
 

Literaturacubana.com asks: 

      Which themes interest you the most for your works? 
      Magical and psychological searches. In my case, both come together because I believe that magic and the psyche are very much linked; and when I speak of magic, I include all possibilities for transformation, whether they are biological or social. There is magic in the laws of physics and in the deep unexplored depths of the brain. In my novel Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre, I put this idea in the words of one of the protagonists: "Magic is a science plagued by questions; science is a magic that has found answers." 

      Why does fiction appeal to you? 
      Because it is the best quality in human beings, that which makes us unique, that distinguishes us clearly from animals. We wouldn't be human, we wouldn't be communicating as we speak through an Internet web site, if it weren't for fiction. What is fiction, other than the inventive capacity of man? The ability to imagine is the greatest mystery of the human mind. A while ago I read some Einstein writings where he assured us that the possibility of invention or innovation has nothing to do with knowledge. More or less, Einstein said that the brain doesn't function based on facts or accumulated information. He stated that, in order to create, it is only necessary for the mind to receive a wave of light, a mysterious bolt of light born from nothingness, in order for one to have a whole new universe in front of him. I believe the same. That light is the instinct of imagination, and from it we are given any and all possibilities. 

      Have you had to change your work or your writing process due to issues unrelated to literature? 
      I have had to change my process. Now I adapt more to the schedule imposed on me by life. Most times I don't write when I want, rather when I can. 

      Reading interviews you have done, I've seen that in each one, your beauty is mentioned and that people are surprised you have decided to become a writer and not a model. What do you think about that comment? 
     To be frank, it is disconcerting. 

      Do you feel that Cuban literature is totally different from the rest of Latin American literature? Why? 
      I don't think it's totally different, but without a doubt it has very unique characteristics given its geographic, political, and social isolation. No other Latin American country has been subjected to socio-political process like the one that island has suffered from for the last 40 years. That leaves a mark on a people and its culture. 

      You always mention Shakespeare as one of your favorite authors. How did this author influence you in your writing? What other authors have influenced you as an author? 
      I think that my writings, in addition to being fictional, are psychological. My formation and my personal life are really tied to this element. For starters, one of my mother's two professions is psychology. I started devouring the work of Freud, Piaget, and Jung from the time I was 13 years old. Since I also loved literature, I didn't have any choice but to fall in love with Shakespeare just as I met him: a love that has not abandoned me through the years. I even picked that major so I could study him in his original language. To me, Shakespeare is the first "psychologist" author in history. He is also a great romantic. Those are two things I love about him. His influence on me started when I was fifteen, when I read all of his works. I remember that, since I had to return the book to the library, I copied complete scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. I learned complete dialogues from those works by heart. I suppose that this had to leave its mark on me. I still find myself making references to him in my texts. I have a story called "La sustancia de los sueños" (The Stuff of Dreams), a chapter of El hombre, la hembra y el hambre titled "La sombra del príncipe danés" (The Danish Prince Shadow), with a monologue that is a feminine and Cuban version of "to be or not to be"... If you look at my books, there's hardly one where his impressions don't appear. Shakespeare showed me how to probe the psyche of characters through anguish, fear, doubt, and unconfessed or frustrated desires, which are the base of neurosis. Other authors have influenced me, not necessarily in fiction: Tolkien, Exupéry, the English Romantic poets, Freud, Bradbury, Poe, Ursula K. LeGuin, Margaret Atwood, James Frazer, Vargas Llosa, Andersen, the Grimm Brothers, Anne McCaffrey, Mary Stewart... and ancient and medieval epics like Gilgamesh, the biblical "Song of Songs" and everything concerning the Arthur saga. 

      You started writing in the genre of science fiction and recently received the Goliardos International prize for your novel Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre (Fables of an Extraterrestrial Grandmother), published for the first time in 1988, which falls into this genre. However, your writings were later focused toward a more spiritual side, and less scientific. Is this a correct assumption? Has Daína Chaviano abandoned science fiction? 
      I couldn't abandon the air I breathe. I imagine that when you talk about a "more spiritual, less scientific" fiction, you are referring to novels I published after I left Cuba. Those novels belong to a series I've already finished. Now I have gone back to writing the purest fiction and the most heterodox and heretical science fiction. 

      You have won several literary awards since you began writing, among them the Azorín Award for novels (Spain), the previously mentioned Goliardos (Mexico), and others. What do you think of about literary awards? What else is necessary, besides writing well, in order to win a literary award? 
      Literary awards are a means to achieve a higher level of promotion before having the winning work published. They are useful to the publishing market because they set expectations. But an award is not an indicator that you write better or worse than any other author. An award indicates that a group of people preferred your work over others. That is why, other than writing well, you have to have a little luck. 

      Is there any difference in your current writing style from the one you had from your beginnings in Cuba? 
     Of course. Who doesn't change their tastes or likes through the years? My favorite music isn't the same now as it was when I was a teenager. The way I dress, the way I act, and the way I think have also changed. Literature evolves together with the author. 

      In your opinion, what advantages or disadvantages does a Cuban author have in or outside Cuba?
      Among the things that an author needs to write comfortably and freely, is the possibility of compiling information of any type and later use it as you see fit... Or simply use your own life or imagination to recreate it on paper. It is quite difficult, to not say impossible, to achieve this type of liberty on the island. Anyway, an authentic author writes in spite of it...remember Reinaldo Arenas. 

      You are Cuban, you write in Spanish, you studied English literature, your work has been published in Spain, you live in the United States and on occasions you have said that you hardly identify with Caribbean culture. Who do you write for? 
      For myself. I could never do it for anyone in particular. I can't think about how to get a character out of the fix he or she is in, if I am worried about what this or that reader will like, and knowing --moreover-- that everyone will have a different opinion about it. Also, that is why I I started to write: to tell the stories I wanted to read that I couldn't find anywhere. 

      Some authors have "quirks" when it comes time to write. What are Daína Chaviano's quirks? What do you do before writing a work? 
      I prefer to start early in the morning and keep going until I'm tired... it can be three in the afternoon or eleven at night. Most times I can't do it because of work reasons. I oversee Architectural Digest en Español and although my schedule is pretty flexible, I work a lot so that it turns out the best it can. It is a precious magazine that I enjoy doing. For that reason, I write at night, on weekends, or whenever I can... even during my vacation time, I write with music. There is nothing better than to enter in this state that leads to creation... I don't like when people interrupt me when I'm writing, but I imagine that this must happen to anyone who needs to concentrate... With novels, once I have the main idea, I start a research process. For a time I dedicate myself to "cooking" the original idea. I take notes and I go constructing a backbone of what will be the structure, by parts or chapters. Once I have the universe, the characters, and what happens more or less, clear in my mind, I start writing. 

      Do you consider yourself a successful author? What does success mean to Daína Chaviano? What is your goal as an author? 
      I am not sure what success is. Is it winning a lot of literary awards? Is it to have a following? To live by what you write? Maybe it is all of that and more. Or maybe it's something different. The concept of success can vary, even for the same person, depending on a moment in their 
life or an emotional state. I am only sure of one thing: my goal as a writer is to keep writing. 

      How do you select and mold your characters? With which of your characters do you identify with the most? Do any of them have something to do with the life of Daína Chaviano?
      Sometimes authors take fragments from their personalities --or what they would do if the circumstances were right-- to mold certain traits of their characters. But, in my case, that recipe is not absolute, nor repetitive. Many of my favorite characters don't resemble me at all. In reality, they are idealizations of what I myself would like to be or what I would like to find in other human beings. For example, Soio/Merlinus, the magician in Fábulas de una abuela extraterrestre, is nothing like me, and he is one of my favorites. Another one of my favorites is Desza, from the same novel. She's an adorable character: the idealization of the grandmother that we all had or would have liked to have had. To tell you the truth, many of my preferred characters are old, wise, and set in their ways. 
      On the other hand, I choose characters according to the story. But, sometimes they appear before the story itself, as with Arlena, in Fábulas... or in "la sombra" (the shadow) from Gata encerrada. What they do the moment they appear can give me a clue of what will happen later in the novel.

      What are Daína Chaviano's passions? What is your favorite animal, flower, precious stone, and color? Why? 
      My favorite animal is the cat. I don't have a favorite flower; I like them all, but I prefer the smell of roses, and I love it when people give me orchids. Orchids are a living sculpture. I don't have a favorite precious stone either. And my colors are black, white, and silver: mystery, purity, and moonlight. 

      If you wanted to be remembered for just one of your works, which one would it be and why?
      If I could be remembered for any one of them, that would be enough. 

      If you had to go to Mars on a one-way trip, what books would you bring? What else would you bring with you? 
      I started to make a list but I had to erase it. It would be endless. Among the first that I wrote down were The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, the complete works of William Shakespeare, The Celtic Twilight by Yeats, a collection of all the English romantic poets, and a stack of fiction and science fiction books, poetry, and general literature. I think I would have to bring a complete library with me to Mars, and a lot of movies, music, friends, relatives, photos, and memories... in addition to my boyfriend, a cat, some plants, and birds for the garden. 

      What are you reading currently?
      An anthology compiled by Isaac Asimov, with short novels from the Golden Age of science fiction, and a book on Zen interior designs. 

      What is the most valuable piece of advice you have received during your career as a writer? What advice would you give to new writers? 
      The most valuable piece of advice I have been given is: if you don't like it yourself, no one else will like it either. Advice for new writers: Write the way you feel, not the way others want you to do it. 

      Literaturacubana.com is a new site. Have you ever visited it? What is your opinion of this Internet space? 
      I have visited it many times and I am happy that a site dealing with this theme exists. It is informative and it lets the reader decide what is or isn't of interest. Also, it has the best newsletter on Cuban literature that exists on the Internet. 

      What new projects will Daína Chaviano bring us soon? 
     I started working on another novel. I don't know if it is fantasy or science fiction, or both. But, without a doubt, it floats between those two worlds and each is included.