We had the good fortune of connecting with Marta Hernani Fernandez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marta, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Bilbao (Spain). The Basque Country is a region with a very special storytelling tradition. I grew up surrounded by fantasy books and playing piano and acting in a theater group, so I fell in love with the arts very young. Later on, I moved to Madrid for college, and after that, I lived sometime in Florence (Italy) and in London before making the career leap to Los Angeles, so all those experiences definitely impacted the writer I am today. Speaking different languages has also opened many doors for me to meet extraordinary people from all over the world, which is a wealth of inspiration when creating new characters!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m passionate about character-driven stories and I love writing in the YA sphere. I find it is where you can best explore your protagonist’s journey, and all the moral complexities of what it means to be a hero vs a villain. It’s also such a liberating experience! Children and young teens make the best first-person narrators, because they allow you to explore the world through a lens of curiosity and magical thinking that you can’t really pull off with an adult voice. My novel, Carlota París, follows an eleven-year-old girl who is confronting the loss of her mother and the discovery of her own supernatural powers at the same time, but it’s also a head-first dive into friendship and self-acceptance that I think will be resonant beyond YA audiences.

On the TV side, I enjoy writing female-led dramas whose characters are a bit smarter than everyone else, who are entertaining to watch but also leave you hanging on some sort of moral or philosophical dilemma (think FLEABAG, MARVELLOUS MRS MAISEL, or anything by Hello Sunshine). But my motivation to write is the same for books and screenplays: I strive to create stories that make the audience feel a little more hopeful about the world, and a little less alone. Because books and film have truly been a source of inspiration and comfort in my own life.

As per challenges faced and lessons learnt, well, writing is a craft, you are constantly learning and evolving. I adhere to the old saying that you need to be a good reader in order to be a good writer. I try to read as many books and scripts as possible, and I watch tons of film, both old and new. Working as part of the jury for script competitions and as a story analyst for production companies also has helped me. If the writing is good, it inspires me to write more, and if it’s so-so, it pushes me to be more critical with my own work. I often find myself trying to spot on my scripts the same pitfalls I flag in other people’s work: e.g. Where is the plot flattening? Where does the dialogue start to sound inauthentic? Where am I telling instead of showing? Etc.

Other than that, life is a constant source of inspiration. I usually start my stories with just a character, based on someone I’ve met that has either impressed me or genuinely surprised me, and an idea. This can be something that has come up over dinner, or that I’ve overheard on a plane, anything that has had an impact on me and that I feel is worth sharing. The plot, the world building and everything else will come after, through months of work and rewrites, but it always starts with a character and an idea.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Definitely check out some of the hikes that start off Griffith Park or over on Malibu. The studio tours at Warner Brothers and Universal are really fun. Also, there’re a few brunch spots in Santa Monica that are worth visiting, Blueys is one of my favorites. Or just get an ice cream from the Manhattan Beach Creamery and enjoy the sunset by the pier, it has the nicest view!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Definitely my family and all my professors at the London School of Economics and at USC. They have been a constant source of inspiration and support throughout the last few years. And all the writers that I admire – from Roald Dahl to Phoebe Waller Bridge, Amy Sherman-Palladino, and many, many more – for having a tremendous influence in my life and my career.

Website: https://martahernani.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martahernani/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marta-hernani-fern%C3%A1ndez-71459bb1/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MartaHernani

Other: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61887898-carlota-par-s, https://open.spotify.com/show/0QDcDtaJ829Jzvz0lkxoRA

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