Sofia Herrera interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Sofia Herrera, I am 17 years old and I’m a Chilean author that has been ‘officially’ writing since 2021. I have one published novel and three more in the works, while my works that will see the light of day are novels only, I also write poems and songs for fun. Aside from reading and writing, I also love cats. My daily life consists of going to school, studying, writing obviously, listening to music while working out, baking sweets for my family and friends, and drinking way too much coffee. I’m also a junior in high school, but I haven’t decided what I want to study yet. 

When did your love of books begin?

My mother made sure that I developed a love for reading ever since I was a child, and she succeeded with no issue. When I endured tough times during my primary school years, the library would be my safe place, and after a couple of years of reading a large number of books that were beyond my reading age, I started to realize I could also write stories by myself, which proved to be an even greater escape from reality at the time. 

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I think that wish was always on the back of my mind ever since my love for writing became a present fact in my life, but it didn’t seem like a real possibility until de COVID pandemic hit; because the weight of freshmen and sophomore years was lifted off my back, I realized I had enough time to write and live life normally, and once the thought of finishing an actual novel became a real goal, I made sure it climbed the ranks on my priority list until I got there. 

How have you found the process for becoming an author?

It’s interesting to say the least, my family always knew I had a knack for language-related areas, but I haven’t exactly told them I’m a published author because in their mind, that is either a career choice or nothing, there’s no in between for them and it bothers me, especially because my writing is in English while our native language is Spanish so it’s almost impossible for them to see my work in the first place. My friends are really my biggest support group, they were by my side during the whole writing and publishing process of my first novel and I couldn’t be more thankful for it. 

Support, either in real life or via the internet, is definitely one of the most crucial factors that actually made me go through with finishing and publishing my novel, I am very glad that despite the ups and downs I went through during the 10 months it took me, I am very thankful for everyone that supported me with my dream of becoming an author. 

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

It’s not going to be easy, even if you have the greatest support group and a large sum of money that you can use to fund your writing dreams, there is a big chance it’ll be a slow process that will need a lot of patience on your part. I don’t mean to bring anyone down by saying that, but I want my fellow writers to be aware that it’s not an easy road to go through, but if you want to become an author, with time and patience you’ll get there, and the feeling of satisfaction that overcomes you once you get there makes it all worth it. 

Tell us about your book/books:

My first published novel is called “The Misplaced Bullet” it takes place during the late 1930s and it’s about a captain in the German army called Emmaline Wolf that gets lost in the Bavarian Forest on her way back to her base and ends up in the mansion that belongs to one of the wealthiest families of southeast Germany, the story progresses with her past and the family’s interwinding in weird ways until she needs to make the choice of staying with the Schwarz family or leaving to go back to her base. 

I am currently working in three other novels as well “Until death do us part” the diary of a closed doors nurse that works for a wealthy Russian family during the covid pandemic; “Timeless: The prison” the story about a French girl that gets sent to prison but finds herself living between female criminals that come from various decades throughout history and “A mob’s passport” the story of a late teen who is forced to live with her deadbeat father after her mother passes away only to find out that her father is the chairman of one of the greatest mobs in southern Italy. 

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

It’s very common to see writers promoting each other through social media, whether they have 100 or 10.000 followers, we all want to see our fellow writers succeed and sell their books. There is no need to put others down to try and sell more copies, and the reading community is also great at receiving book recommendations from small authors, self-published or not, to help them grow while also discovering new reading material that they might like. 

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

If any of you ever find yourselves in a dark place wanting to escape, I hope my novels can send you off to another reality where you can find comfort for a short while, because that was the main reason I loved reading so much when I was a child, and it would make me immensely happy to know that I can provide that warm feeling to other people around the globe. 

Where can people connect with you?

I have both twitter (@Latin_writer) and Instagram (@the_latin_writer), my DMs are open in both platforms if anyone wants to contact me casually through there, my email for business inquiries is contact@thelatinwriter.com and I also have a website where you can find out more about me, my novels and actually purchase them at thelatinwriter.com