Alice Kellen rejects the labels her books have been shelved, but she can’t help being the best-selling reader of 2022 in Spain. The young woman from Valencia is full of simplicity and naturalness, like her works that focus on daily life, love, bonds and emotions. In March, he released “Where Everything Shines” (Planet), a tale of Nicki and River’s bumpy and secondary characters living in a chilly beach town.
Its publishing speed is astonishing because in November he published ‘The Theory of Archipelago’ and in March ‘Where Everything Shines’ saw the light. Is it the speed you create or do you have a lot of writing?
It’s deceiving because I wrote November two years ago and it’s so short. Now I go to one novel a year, and every year and a half it will be, I’ll leave space for it. But if it were up to me, I would get up every day and spend five or six hours in front of the computer; My favorite thing is to write.
How will you do this now?
Well, it’s set up like this: now there’s a promotional phase, a tour, interviews, social networks… and from October the creative phase. I lock myself in my house and I don’t go anywhere, I don’t pay attention to any media… because there are always offers and you have to set limits. I need to spend those months at home, touch social networks less, not be interested in anything outside, and know that all I have to do is get up and write.
So, do you imprison yourself so you can write?
I split the year into two: the introduction and the writing phase. I understand that the book is out and you have to defend it, but for that book to come out, you have to have that parenthesis.
Named after the last book, what shines for Alice Kellen?
There are people who shine for me, emotions, love, friendship, memories, childhood too… I like to pay attention to what we forget when we grow up, like the glow of the sea or the dust that gets in. window; stop for a moment and what does it symbolize.
One of the differences of this game from others is the number of characters?
Yes, I usually don’t really like secondary roles, and I wanted to give it a choral touch where they weigh in and see the story of the heroes through different eyes: someone from the family, from the town. or from a person passing by … describing an episode and giving it a slightly broader vision.
And does it often happen that life takes two people on different paths and then brings them back together, as it happens to the heroes?
Sometimes yes. There are childhood friends that you do not know exactly why, their paths diverge. Adolescence, youth, maturity means many changes: you experiment, you try, you meet a lot of people… and it’s not always the right way. It has happened to me to reconnect and continue the relationship.
In some cases, maybe you need to be brave like Nicki and River to come back.
It would be very easy if everything in life was clear and we said exactly what we think without going into details; But that’s not the case, people – I don’t know why – are extremely complex and we keep everything to ourselves…
The town in the book, Cape Town, does not exist, but is inspired by Maine (USA). For example, why there and not in the Mediterranean?
It came to mind when I was watching a news story about lobster fishing and then I watched the movie Manchester by the Sea. I really liked this setting of a harsh town with a cold and hostile climate. He had to be there because he wanted to talk about her. Sometimes you don’t know exactly why, you open a topic, you draw it, you read it, it grabs your attention… One thing brings another.
His books are sold in more than 30 countries and will soon arrive in the US in full Is this making your head spin? Or another country?
The US market is not easy, especially for an outsider. We’ll see what happens, but I’m being very cautious. It may surprise us, but it turns your head even though I experience it as something a bit foreign.
Most read author in Spain in 2022. With platforms, does this have more value now than it was a few decades ago? Internet…?
In a sense yes, but the truth is that there is a lot of information in these times and everything comes so fast. The Internet is also very powerful for promotion, especially if you are targeting a younger audience. You play with this advantage, and word of mouth is transmitted not only on the street, but also on social networks.
And how has your style changed over the years?
You evolve because, as I do, novels grow; You are not interested in the same topics and are looking for something new, a challenge to motivate you. This is why recent novels tend to be a little more adult; They make me worry and I wonder about the things I didn’t do when I was 20.
What are we going to read next?
I don’t know because I have a few projects started but I haven’t decided yet, I’m testing. I have a few ideas that I want to come up with, but I haven’t found the right place yet.
Do you feel pressure knowing that readers are waiting for your works?
What puts more pressure on me is to think I’m going to do something different that they won’t like. It’s stressing me out but it’s impossible not to do it, it’s selfish and creative to want to have fun and feed you. It scares me to think that you have changed and that there are readers who are not following you at the same pace and that you will be disappointed. This is not the riskiest novel.
And don’t you want to try other genres? Whatnoir novel or eg childish?
Of course I would like to try different things, but that is impossible because time does not allow for more. For example, when I was a kid I loved it: it would be nice to write stories one day….
They call him “editorial phenomenon”, “love writer”… Do you like these hashtags?
I don’t feel like they’re mine, because in the end my job is to write, but I realize that’s how the world works. You have to introduce yourself, you have to be on social networks, you have to be the face… that other part that all business will have.
So how would you describe your books?
They talk about pretty everyday things, they revolve around love, bonds, feelings… I always try to have a sensual touch, my essence, and each novel changes and not a repeat of the previous one.
It is remarkable that he uses a pseudonym and appears in the photos…
At first I didn’t do any of this, I wrote it and that’s it. Then, as things got bigger, I stepped out of my comfort zone, went to autographs… and finally you became a visible face. Like my stage name, people know me by that name, and if I was posting with my real name right now, a lot of people in the bookstore wouldn’t know it was me. For example, if I’ve written from another genre and want to differentiate, it might be an option to start from scratch and look for another type of reader.
How does it feel to meet the readers?
These are moments that fill you with energy. It continues to amaze me that something I write can reach another person so much, beat sentences, or get emotional in a difficult time. You stay connected.