The Manchester book fair. I’m sure I’ll manage to fit in a post and some photos… soon
In the maelstrom of visits, book fairs, editing jobs, other jobs, reading and reviewing books, I was checking posts I’ve published elsewhere and was surprised to realise that I had forgotten to share here a post I published in Lit World Interviews about translations that had quite a few comments and I thought, in case you’d missed it, it was worth sharing here too. See what you think.
See what you think and I’ll keep you posted on everything.
Hi all:
As some of you may know, apart from blogging , mostly about books , I am a writer and I translate books from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English. A few months back and as part of a book fair I was asked to talk about translations and I prepared a few notes. Although the full speech is a bit lengthy for a single post, I thought that in preparation for further interviews with author translating their books (and by the way, any authors who’ve had their books translated to Spanish, I’d be more than happy to share them in my blog after the summer. Just get in touch) I thought I’d share some of the thoughts I had on possible reasons to get one’s books translated.
Why would anybody want to have their books translated?
We all know how big a competition we face to try and sell books. Making it available to a wider audience is always a great idea. In the case of Spanish, it has 518 million speakers across the world, 427 as a native language. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is also used as an official language by the European Union, the Organization of American States, and the Union of South American Nations, and by many other international organizations.
These new markets are also less crowded. Although the offer in Spanish is increasing, the number of e-books available in Spanish is much smaller than that in English. And of course there are retailers that will be more interested in Spanish books.
The same as is the case in English, there are blogs, Facebook pages, reviewers, reporters, critics, writers and readers looking for books in Spanish. I can say that with regards to other writers, I’ve found it easier to get in contact with writers who are best-selling authors, even across the whole of Amazon, in the Spanish language, than it is getting to know the big sellers in English. (Of course, some markets like Amazon Spain or Mexico are smaller, but still…)
One never knows when chance of pure luck might strike. I know a Spanish writer called Enrique Laso, whose books have been translated to many languages and who told me that although he has no idea why, his books translated to Greek have been great hits there. It’s impossible to know what might strike a chord with readers in a particular market.
I’ve read many posts by writers talking about how exciting it is to see your first book published and, in the case of paperback, have it in your hands. Well, I must confess seeing one of my books translated to Chinese made me feel equally excited. (Although you won’t be able to buy it in Amazon.Chn is also available in Amazon.com…) And I had to share it here.
Twin Evils? Chinese cover. Of course it’s also available in English and in Spanish as ‘Gemela Maldad’
I know of authors who are working on the idea of publishing their books in bilingual editions and indeed they might provide a good option for marketing as an aid to language learning.
Thanks to you all for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed the post, I might share some more bits of the full original, and please, share, like, comment and CLICK!
Como algunos de vosotros ya sabréis, aparte de publicar posts y artículos en este blog y en algún otro, soy escritora y traduzco libros del español al inglés y del inglés al español. Hace unos meses participé en una feria de libros en Gales, y como parte de las actividades adicionales me pidieron que hablara sobre traducciones y preparé unas notas. Aunque la charla es un poco larga para un solo post, se me ocurrió que podría compartir al menos una parte que trata sobre posibles razones por las que uno podría querer traducir su libro.
¿Por qué iba a querer un autor traducir sus libros?
Todos sabemos que nos enfrentamos a mucha competencia al intentar vender nuestros libros. Hacer que estén disponibles para una audiencia mayor es siempre buena idea. En el caso específico del inglés, hay más de 400 millones de personas que lo hablan como lengua materna (en 67 países) y más de 600 millones como segunda lengua. Es el lenguaje oficial en muchísimas instituciones internacionales.
Naturalmente eso también quiere decir que hay muchísimos libros publicados en inglés. Pero es cierto que el inglés abre las puertas a mercados en crecimiento con mucho potencial (como India) y ciertos servicios, por ejemplo usar opciones como Fiberead para traducir para el mercado chino, o ACX para audios es mucho más fácil a partir de un libro en inglés. Y algunas opciones de marketing como Bookbub o NetGalley solo están disponibles (al menos de momento) exclusivamente para libros escritos en inglés.
Como pasa en inglés, también hay blogs, páginas de Facebook, reseñadores, reporteros, críticos, escritores y lectores que buscan libros en inglés. Y aunque yo sigo y me siguen muchos escritores españoles en Twitter, por ejemplo, mi lista de autores en inglés es muchísimo más larga. Y he conectado con blogs fabulosos y mucha gente que organiza eventos conjuntos, promociones conjuntas de libros, audios, etc…
Una nunca sabe cuando puede sonar la flauta por casualidad o por pura suerte. Seguramente muchos conocéis a Enrique Laso, cuyos libros se han traducido a muchos idiomas y que me comentó que aunque no sabe por qué, sus libros traducidos al griego han sido un gran éxito. Es imposible saber qué tema o personaje puede conectar con un mercado específico. Y todos conocemos historias de cantantes o directores de cine que son mucho más populares en otros países que en el suyo.
He leído muchos posts en los que autores comentaban lo emocionante que es el ver tu primer libro publicado, y en el caso de la versión en papel, el tocarlo con tus propias manos. Bueno, pues tengo que confesar que el ver uno de mis libros traducido para el mercado chino me hizo mucha ilusión. (Aunque en Amazon.Chn no lo podáis comprar pero… ) Y aquí está.
Gemela Maldad, portada para el mercado chino. Por supuesto también disponible en inglés con el título Twin Evils?
Conozco a autores que están trabajando en crear versiones bilingües de sus libros y eso es una gran opción para promocionarlo como libro de ayuda para aprender los dos idiomas (doble mercado).
Gracias a todos por leer, y si os ha interesado, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y haced CLIC! Ah, y si alguno de vuestros libros está disponible en traducción al inglés, publico una seria de entrevistas sobre el tema en otro blog (aquí) y me encantaría incluiros a vosotros y a vuestro libro.
As you know I normally bring you new books and authors on Fridays. And as you also know, apart from writing and having done a few other things in my life (yes, being a psychiatrist too), I translate books from English to Spanish and vice versa, not only my own books, but also those of others.
Today I bring you a book I’ve translated for a fellow indie author, Javier Haro Herraiz, from Spain, a great supporter of indie authors and a prolific writer in a variety of genres, and who has a great love for superheroes, comics and horror. His writing style is pretty unique (you’ll either get it or it will drive you mad. I’ve done my best to not change it too much in the translation), as he seems to write comics without words. His novels are in general short, dynamic, and they are graced with a narrator that you will either love or hate (yes, it’s a Marmite kind of situation).
Here is the book:
Dark Prophecy by Javier Haro Herráiz
Dark Prophecy by Javier Haro Herráiz
And from the Darkness a Warrior born in Heaven and bred in the Underworld will arrive… And a young dark skinned woman with blue eyes will arrive to unite them all under the same cloak… And the one who swore to protect us will rebel against the human race… And the day will arrive when a Big War between Heaven and Hell will be unleashed, and that day there will be death and wailing everywhere…
To give you a better idea of the book, I read the original Spanish version and wrote a review quite a while back, so I thought I’d translate it for you (although of course it does not reflect the translation side of things)
My review (of the Spanish original):
If one could say that there is a ‘norm’ with regards to novels, Javier Haro Herráiz’s novels do not adhere to it.
In general his novels are short and have the feel of a novel by installments (or perhaps a better comparison would be a comic or a serial like the old ones shown in the cinema, where Pauline was tied up to the railway line and we didn’t know what would happen until next week) where each episode could be read independently, and therefore I recommend them if you don’t have a lot of time and only read a few minutes at a time. And as it’s usual in these type of stories there is also an invisible narrator who reminds us where we were or where the action was when we last left it (and that can have a surprising effect if we read it all in one go).
The author, who has more than his fair share of original ideas and entangled situations, puts his trust in his readers hoping that they’ll be as creative as he is, and his descriptions of the action, the events or the characters are basic and brief, to allow each and all readers to create their own movies in their heads. In that universe, all women are beautiful and all men, are well, men.
Dark Prophecy opens up with a suggestion full of possibilities. The birth of a new Messiah in complex circumstances. I won’t give you any spoilers, but although you know the basic story, the details will surprise you. What do you think a modern Messiah born nowadays would do? How would this Messiah spread the message? Would the reception given to such Messiah be better or worse than to the previous one?
Personally I thought that the characters and the situations could have been further explored, but I can’t deny that the novel made me think, intrigued me and I read it very quickly.
A comic without drawings, or a postmodern novel centred on the surface and the banality of modern life. I’ll let you decide for yourselves. I’m waiting to see what the author’s universe brings us next.
Ah, and last minute, but the audio for my novella Escaping Psychiatry. Beginnings has just become available. At the moment in Audible and Amazon but it should be available in other places soon.
Here I leave you a sample in Sound Cloud and You Tube so you can check the fabulous narration of Marlin May. He’s told me he’s also available to adapt books written in UK English to US English (I’m sure you all remember Wendy Janes’s great post about the differences between the two. You can refresh your memory here).
I’ll let you know when I get the free codes, but for now, just check this sample:
Escaping Psychiatry narrated by Marlin May
Escaping Psychiatry. Beginnings by Olga Núñez Miret. Narrated by Marlin May
How far would a writer go for a killer story? This is the question psychiatrist Mary Miller must answer to solve the first mystery/thriller of her career. You can get to know the main characters of this psychological thriller series for FREE and test your own acumen and intuition in this novella about the price of ambition.
Dr Mary Miller is a young psychiatrist suffering a crisis of vocation. Her friend Phil, a criminalist lawyer working in New York, invites her to visit him and consult on the case of a writer accused of a serious assault. His victim had been harassing him and accusing him of stealing his story, which he’d transformed into a best-selling book. The author denies the allegation and claims it was self-defence. When the victim dies, things get complicated. The threshold between truth and fiction becomes blurred and secrets and lies unfold.
Escaping Psychiatry. Beginnings is the prequel to EscapingPsychiatry a volume collecting three stories where Mary and her psychiatric expertise are called to help in a variety of cases, from religious and race affairs, to the murder of a policeman, and in the last case she gets closer than ever to a serial killer.
If you enjoy this novella, don’t forget to check Mary’s further adventures. And there are more to come.
Thanks very much to the author for bringing us his book, thanks to Marlin May for his narrations and of course thanks to you all for reading and, please, do share, comment, like and CLICK!
First of all it’s Friday and as you know I usually bring you new authors and books. I have featured this writer, Mo de la Fuente, in my blog before, and shared some of her novels in Spanish. I was lucky enough that she decided to have one of them translated to English (she took advantage of my special offer in March, 50% discount… I might do it again, but there’s always a deal to be had for my author friends and fellow bloggers). I recently shared my review of her novel in Spanish (that has nothing to do with me), and what I decided to do today, was share that review (translated to English) with you.
The review is not reflection of my own work (the author has very kindly said that she prefers my version to hers) but I enjoyed the original, as you’ll see from my review. I also share the author’s page in Amazon, that is available in bilingual version.
The Quiet Island by Mo de la Fuente. Translation: Olga Núñez Miret
The Quiet Island by Mo de la Fuente
As dawn breaks, the usual calm of a tiny quiet Mediterranean island is shattered by the news. A teenage girl has gone missing. Inspector Villanueva, temporarily transferred to the island, and sub-inspector Esteller must fight against the elements, the lack of resources, and their own demons to solve the mystery of what happened in a place where nothing ever does.
Here my review, of the original (no reflection of my own work):
I don’t read exclusively a single genre, although I freely admit that I like thrillers and mystery books and I read quite a few of them. In part because they are like a puzzle we try to solve thanks to the clues the text gives us, in part because I like to see how the writer manages to bring something new to the genre. And for me, no matter what type of story I’m reading, finding interesting characters I can connect with it’s the most important thing.
This novel takes place in the small island of Tabarca, in the Mediterranean, off the shore of Alicante. As several of the reviews of the book point out, reading the novel makes one want to visit it, because of the wonderful descriptions of the peace and quiet, the thought of a place with no cars, without pollution, and calm. In such a small place, where everybody knows everybody else (apart from the tourists, of course) and where nothing ever happens, a girl’s disappearance is an event that upsets everyone. And when Clara turns up dead, things only take a turn for the worse. The combination of the place and the setting with the investigators: Hernán, an inspector sent there god knows why, Mónica, who had been sub-inspector in Barcelona but decided to quit due to personal reasons, and Raúl, the only one not hiding from something and who is totally happy there, works beautifully.
The investigation is hindered by circumstances (even with the arrival of the inspector, there are only three police officers in the island, there’s no lab, and no way to follow correct protocol) and the lack of resources (an excellent commentary on the budget cuts Spain is suffering), and little by little we discover more details about the island’s inhabitants and about the members of the police. I really enjoyed the ending (that I won’t talk about in detail as I don’t want to spoil the surprise) and it rounds up a novel that, although short, is long enough to intrigue and touch us.
I found Mónica’s personal story, closely related to the case, fascinating, and it would make a great novel (or more than one) on its own. Quite aside from the details, for me the author manages to portray complex psychological aspects and the reactions of the characters in a very accurate manner, by using several points of view, that help the reader get under the skin of the characters, sharing in their emotions and their life experiences. For me, Mónica, María (the victim’s mother) and the island of Tabarca stand out in the narration and I’m sure I won’t forget them in a hurry.
I recommend this book to readers who love mystery novels that go beyond the usual, psychological thrillers and extraordinary settings.
Mo de la Fuente (Salamanca, Spain) studied Translation and Audiovisual Communication at the University of Salamanca and Westminster School of Languages (London). She is an official translator and “Ojalá Paula” is her first novel. Besides, she writes and produces short films.
If you want to learn more about the autor, her novel and her interests, visit her blog http://ojalapaula.blogspot.com.es/
Thanks so much to Mo de la Fuente for this opportunity, thanks to all of you for reading, and if you’ve found it interesting, like, share, comment and of course, CLICK!
Normalmente os traigo nuevos autores y libros los viernes, pero hoy es un poco especial, ya que la historia que os traigo (es cortita) es una que he traducido yo y que me gustó mucho en su versión original. Decidí compartir la reseña que le dediqué a la versión inglesa, traducida, aunque conste que no comento para nada la calidad de mi traducción.
Espero que os guste.
El reto de Kim Iverson Headlee. Traducción: Olga Núñez Miret
El reto. Las crónicas del dragón y la paloma. Kim Iverson Headlee. Traducción Olga Núñez Miret
El guante está echado. Una de las dos debe morir. Rendirse no es una opción.
Arturo el Gran Rey de Breatein está cautivo, presa de su vieja enemiga, Camilla, la princesa guerrera sajona, que ansía vengar la muerte de su prometido a manos de Gyan y que no se detendrá ante nada, ni siquiera la magia negra, para conseguir su objetivo. Gyan y Arturo se han distanciado, y ella teme que Arturo se ponga del lado de Camilla y la nombre su nueva reina.
Para enfrentarse al reto de Camilla, Gyan debe afrontar sus demonios—tanto los públicos como los privados.
El reto forma parte de Las crónicas del dragón y la paloma de Kim Headlee y aunque esta es la primera historia de la serie que me leo, eso no influyó para nada en mi capacidad de disfrutarla. Es una historia corta que transcurre en el mundo de las leyendas Artúricas y aunque mezcla elementos fantásticos (y no es que no haya elementos fantásticos en la historia que todos conocemos al respecto) también usa como referentes historias y tradiciones más antiguas. Teniendo en cuenta lo corta que es, la historia contiene muchos detalles, no solo sobre la acción y la lucha en sí (con vívidas descripciones de armamento y ropa), sino también sobre las relaciones de la reina, Gyan, con sus hombres, de lo que siente con respecto a su gente y a su reino, pero aún más importante que todo eso, la reina tiene que enfrentarse a sus dudas sobre su relación con el rey. Y aunque no voy a daros muchas pistas, puedo deciros que el final no os defraudará.
Si estáis buscando una lectura corta, llena de acción, con una buena mezcla de detalles históricos y fantasía, y con una fabulosa protagonista, os la recomiendo.
Y si queréis echarle un vistazo…
Y como Kim Headlee también tiene otra historia corta de la misma serie disponible en español, no me pude resistir. Espero leérmela dentro de poco, así que os traeré un comentario también.
El color de la venganza de Kim Headlee. Traducción O. Gary
El Color de la Venganza (Las Crónicas del Dragón y la Paloma) (Spanish Edition)Kim Headlee. Traducción: O. Gary
El Color de la Venganza “esta historia de amor, coraje y venganza está escrita brillantemente por Kim Headlee, una autora experta en leyendas Artúricas.” ~ David del blog Crónicas Creativas.
Cuando los ladrones de ganado Angli matan a su esposa e hijo, Dwras hijo de Gwyn jura vengarse de sus asesinos. Pero, ¿cómo puede un simple granjero prevalecer contra bien entrenados y despiadados guerreros? Dwras no debe buscar la respuesta en su espada, sino en su corazón.
Mucha gracias a Kim Headlee for ofrecerme la oportunidad de traducir su novela, gracias a todos por leer, y si os ha interesado, dadle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y haced CLIC!
Echadle un vistazo a Unsplash.com y descubrid fotos fabulosas. Gratis
Los que lleváis tiempo siguiendo mi blog sabréis que además de escribir, reseñar libros y hablar de libros, también traduzco libros de inglés a español y viceversa. Empecé traduciendo mis propias obras porque quería asegurarme de que mis padres y mis amigos en casa tendrían la oportunidad de leerlos (aunque soy española, de Barcelona, llevo viviendo en Inglaterra desde el 1992) pero hace un par de años empecé a traducir los libros de otros escritores.Aquí podéis ver algunos de ellos.
Debido a asuntos de familia no he tenido muchas oportunidades de promocionar mis servicios hasta ahora. Para darme a conocer he decidido ofrecer un descuento promocional especial del 50% en todas mis traducciones. Es una oferta a tiempo limitado.
Mi tarifa usual es de $40/1000 palabras pero este mes lo rebajo a mitad de precio. Si estáis pensando en traducir vuestro libro en un futuro próximo, podéis aprovechar esta oferta y reservarla a este precio por un pequeño depósito. Si queréis discutir vuestro proyecto en más detalle, me podéis enviar un correo a mmxrynz@hotmail.com
Una foto fabulosa de la NASA en Unsplash
Soy autora y sé que vivimos para nuestros lectores y queremos asegurarnos de que nuestros libros puedan llegar a todos nuestros lectores estén donde estén y en cualquier lenguaje que lean. No voy a mentiros. Hay muchas otras opciones para conseguir que os traduzcan vuestros libros, como Babel Cube donde podéis ofrecer vuestros libros y ver si hay algún traductor interesado en hacer el trabajo a cambio de compartir las regalías, pero tenéis que cederle el control del proceso a Babel Cube quienes se hacen cargo de la producción del libro y se quedan con los derechos de distribución durante cinco años. Sé que muchos de nosotros somos autores independientes auto-publicados y estamos acostumbrados a estar a cargo o al menos a supervisar muy de cerca todos los aspectos de la producción de nuestros libros, así que esta puede que no sea una buena alternativa para todo el mundo. Hay muchos lugares donde podéis encontrar traductores, incluyendo Fiverr si preferís estar a cargo del proceso, tenéis un presupuesto para invertir y tiempo para ir probando y escogiendo. Es vuestra decisión.
Como sabéis, publico posts en mi blog en español e inglés y con gusto compartiré los libros que traduzca en grupos de lectores y escritores a los que pertenezco y también escribiré un artículo sobre ellos en mi blog. Pero haré lo mismo, encantada, si os lo traducen en algún otro sitio. Solo me lo tenéis que decir.
Gracias a todos por leer esto y os lo agradeceré más que nunca si le dais al me gusta, lo compartís y comentáis. Y enviadme un correo si tenéis cualquier duda. (Ah, también puedo echarle un vistazo a traducciones que os hayan hecho de vuestras obras si queréis una segunda opinión.)
Those of you who have been following my blog for a while will know that apart from writing, reviewing books, and talking about books, I also translate book from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English. I started by translating my own books because I wanted to make sure my parents and my friends back home could read them, (although I’m Spanish, from Barcelona, I’ve lived in the UK since 1992) but in the last couple of years I’ve also been translating books by other writers. You can check some of those here.
Due to family matters I haven’t had much chance to promote my services until now. To get things started I’ve decided to offer a special promotion. 50% discount of all translations. It is a time limited offer.
My usual tariff is $40/1000 words but this will be slashed in half. If you’re thinking about translating your book in the near future, you can take advantage of this offer and reserve a spot at this price for a deposit. If you’d like to discuss your project in more detail, you can e-mail me at mmxrynz@hotmail.com
Great NASA pic from Unsplash again
As an author, I know we live for our readers and want to ensure that our books can reach readers wherever they are and in whatever language they read. I won’t lie to you. There are other options to get your books translated, like Babel Cube where you can offer your books for translation for a split royalties’ deal, but you have to give control over the process to Babel Cube and they control the production of the book and the distribution rights for five years. I know quite a few of us are self-published authors and we are used to being in charge, or at least closely supervising, all aspects of our book production, so this might not be an attractive option for all. There are many places where you can find translators, including Fiverrif you’d prefer to be in charge of the process and you have the funds to invest and the time to check and vet. It’s your decision.
As you know, I blog in Spanish and English and I’m happy to share the books I translate with some of the readers and writers groups I belong to and to write a feature about them in my blog. But I’ll happily do that even if you get the translation done elsewhere. You only need to let me know.
Thanks to all for reading this and I’d be specially grateful if you like it, share, and comment. And send me an e-mail if you want to ask me any questions. (Ah, I’m happy to check translations done by others if you want a second opinion or a second pair of eyes).
As you know on Fridays I usually bring you new books and guest authors and today, I bring you an author who has featured in my blog before, Enrique Laso. The circumstances are a bit special, as this is book two in his very successful psychological thriller series of Ethan Bush, and it’s still more special because I’ve translated this novel.
As I read the original in the process, of course, I decided to give you my impressions in an informal review. The review is of the story, not of my efforts translating the book (and we’ve counted with Express Editing Solutions invaluable services too), but I thought you might find it interesting.
Shiny Bones by Enrique Laso. Translation Olga Núñez Miret
SHINY BONES
A NEW ETHAN BUSH NOVEL
The FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit special agent Ethan Bush must investigate a serial killer in Nebraska… A GRIPPING HEART-STOPPING THRILLER The monster lives in each one of us. We are beasts that have learned, over the centuries, to control ourselves, to restrain our basic instincts and live peacefully in society. We are, after all, fully domesticated and well-trained beasts.
Only on rare occasions, the wild animal that hides deep in our entrails goes on a rampage, giving rise to an insane nightmare… If you enjoyed novels like ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ or TV series as ‘Criminal Minds’ or ‘True Detective’… this is the story that you have been waiting for. FROM THE NOVEL:
The county police had cordoned off the zone less than an hour after the boys’ find. A pathologist established that the remains were human, although a large part of the skeleton was missing. In fact, what was missing was what would have been most helpful in the task of identifying the body: the cranium.
“Do you have any clues as to how long have those bones been here?” the sheriff asked, perplexed. His head was full of the terror that he knew would grab hold of his entire community just a few hours later.
“Not long. And one of the boys has told us that he comes for walks in this area often and they weren’t here a few days ago.”
“But this stiff croaked some years ago, don’t you think?” asked the sheriff, pointing at what looked like a tibia. Never in his life had he seen such a thing, and it perturbed him.
The pathologist looked at the grayish sky, where clouds were growing and thickening threatening to release a good downpour. But that storm would only be a child’s game in comparison with what was hanging over the county where he lived.
“I don’t know,” he replied, laconic.
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” asked the sheriff, who felt he’d got a completely senseless answer. These were the remains of a skeleton; therefore one didn’t need to be an eminence in medicine to deduct that the guy, no matter who the hell he or she was, would have stopped breathing a very long time ago.
“These bones have been thoroughly cleaned. They have been manipulated. Without studying them in detail, right now I can’t tell you if the owner died yesterday or over ten years ago.”
THE BLUE CRIMES review on Amazon: ‘And so proceeds Enrique’s THE BLUE CRIMES and the manner in which he places Ethan Bush and team in the resolution of crime is tense, suspenseful, and at all times involving. This is quality mystery writing by a voice new to most of us – a welcome addition to the thriller genre’ Grady Harp, TOP-100 Reviewer/ Hall of Fame/ Vine Voice
Shiny Bones by Enrique Laso. The second Ethan Bush novel. Translation Olga Núñez Miret. You don’t need to be weird to solve the case, but it helps.
As I had mentioned when I read the first novel in this series, thrillers that purport to follow the investigation of complex crimes usually have two fundamental elements that go almost hand in hand: the crimes and the investigation (which allow the readers to put their wits to the test), and the investigators, individuals or teams, and less often, the criminals.
It is true that if the crimes are highly intriguing or very strange the book might be interesting even when those doing the investigating aren’t gripping individuals. On the other hand, there are times when the personality and the adventures of those doing the detecting are more interesting than the crimes themselves (as is the case in many ‘cozy mysteries’ like many of Agatha Christie’s novels). The best novels of the genre manage to achieve a balance between the two.
Shiny Bones has a bit of everything. The case is extremely convoluted and twisted, clearly the work of a complex and traumatised mind (and no, I’m not taking about the writer), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to solve, quite the opposite.
And we also have Ethan Bush, an FBI psychologist who comes back, as arrogant, intelligent and annoying as before (in The Blue Crimes). The mature Etan Bush of years later offers us his comments and reflections, not only about the case (where he keeps many things quiet, of course), but also about his own actions, therefore acting as an ersatz reader (or perhaps more accurately, author).
This time Ethan doesn’t have his team at his disposal (that in fact is not “his” team, as his boss keeps reminding him throughout the novel), and he’s obliged to work with the Nebraska State Patrol, the local force, and has to try and reach a compromise with them, although that doesn’t mean he doesn’t try to use all the tricks in the book to get his own way. His intelligence, his skill manipulating people, and even his feelings are put to the test in this case that’s a big challenge for him.
To those of you who enjoy solving the cases whilst you read the novel, I’m afraid I have to tell you that, although you’ll have many suspects, you won’t be able to guess who did it. Even with that it will make you think and question many things.
Personally I am eager to go back to Kansas to discover who murdered Sharon Nichols, a case that’s central to The Blue Crimes but never solved, and I’m waiting anxiously the arrival of Las libélulas azules (The blue dragonflies).
As I mention above I’m happy to disclose that I’ve translated the novel. The book has also undergone professional editing/proof-reading. Due to this circumstance I haven’t shared this review in selling channels, although the original is a review of the Spanish novel, rather than of my own efforts in translation.
Just in case you’d like to know more, I interviewed Enrique for Lit World Interviews, here and I reviewed his first novel in the series The Blue Crimes, here.
Ah, if you think you’d like to know more about getting you books translated, in this page I talk about it (I talk about other things too but, keep reading…). I believe every author and every book deserves the chance to reach a wide international audience and to be read by as many people as possible, and I’d love to help achieve that with my translations. If you want to see examples of books I’ve translated, you can check here.
AFTER CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY
Oh, and before I forget, I’m taking part in a wonderful GIVEAWAY organised by fabulous author and always hard at work promoting others Marie Lavender. You can visit her blog here. If you want to be in with a chance to win an incredible collection of FREE BOOKS (more than 100 books to be won and more than 215 chances to win), come to this page from 12 PM EST pm 15th January:
It runs from today, the 15th of January until the 23rd, so be quick!
Thanks so much to Enrique for the book and the opportunity to work in such a successful series, thanks to Marie for inviting me to participate in the giveaway, thanks to all of you for reading, and you know, like, share, comment and CLICK!
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