Bécquer Eternal and Crimson Romance

 

by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

 

 

 

Buenas noticias: mi novela paranormal Bécquer Eterno será publicada a finales de año a través de la editorial norteamericana Crimson Romance.

La portada de la edición en inglés será distinta de la versión en español, pero ambas evocan el espíritu romántico de la historia.

La edición española estará a la venta a través de Cultiva libros (http://www.cultivalibros.com/) la semana entrante y en edición digital en Amazon.es and Amazon.com en las próximas semanas.

Si vivís en Sevilla no os olvidéis de visitar la Exposición Bécquer tan cerca… A través del arte que tendrá lugar en la Fundación Valentín de Maderiaga del 25 de mayo al 24 de junio. En ella un centenar de artistas homenajearán al ilustre sevillano. Mi libro Bécquer eterno es mi humilde contribución a la Exposición. (http://www.facebook.com/becquertancerca)

Y si os animais a leerla y escribir una reseña por favor uniros a la lectura conjunta que LAKY en “Libros que hay que leer” ha organizado (http://goo.gl/cnJZ2).

¡Muchísimas gracias, LAKY!

 

I’m thrilled to announce that my paranormal story Bécquer Eternal will be published by Crimson Romance at the end of 2012.

They had agreed to keep the gorgeous cover Elaina Lee created for me back when I was signed with Astraea Press.

If you speak Spanish, you are in luck because the Spanish version, Bécquer Eterno, will be available next week through Culitiva Libros and Amazon.com.

And if you have your own blog, you can join the Blog Tour that LAKY at “Libros que hay que leer” has organized for me (http://goo.gl/cnJZ2). Thank you so much, LAKY!

My Road to Publication : Bécquer eternal

 

 

by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

 

 

As I mentioned back in February (http://carmenferreiroesteban.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/Bécquer-eternal-and-astraea-press/), Astraea Press agreed to publish my paranormal novel, BÉCQUER ETERNAL, both in English and Spanish (BÉCQUER ETERNO).

Unfortunately my relationship with Astraea Press came to an end in March when, after two rounds of editing, my line editor discovered that one of my characters, Federico, was homosexual and, I was informed, Astraea Press does not publish books with homosexual characters.

They asked me, politely, to change this.

But how could I? Federico was a real person (Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)), a Spanish poet who, as I mention in my story, was killed during the first days of the Spanish Civil War, because, among other reasons, he was homosexual. To change or not to mention his sexual orientation felt like a betrayal to him and would also destroy the plot of my story.

So, with regret, I told them I couldn’t do it.

Although, soon, I found another publisher interested in the English version of BÉCQUER ETERNAL, they do not publish titles in Spanish.

Too late now, to query Spanish Houses, I decided to publish BÉCQUER ETERNO myself.

Right now, a Spanish POD publisher is printing the galleys.

If things go as planned, a printed copy of BÉCQUER ETERNO, my humble homage to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, the most romantic of the Spanish poets, and Federico Garcia Lorca, IMHO, the greatest Spanish poet of the XX century will be at the Exhibit Bécquer tan cerca… A través del arte in Sevilla from May 25 to June 24.

How I wish I could be there!

My Adventures on Translation : Music and Words

 

by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

 

 

 

Last week after finishing my post, My adventures on Translation : Bécquer Eternal / Bécquer Eterno, where I talked about how a literary translation differs from a technical one, serendipity, that most gracious sister of chance, brought me to the following sentence while reading Robert Greenberg’s How to Listen to Great Music:

“Broadly defined, music is sound in time (…) Far beyond spoken language—which, with its sounds in time, might rightly be considered a low-end sort of music—music is a universal language.”

This struck me because it was exactly what I had been trying to convey in my post.

If language is as Mr. Greenberg so nicely puts “sounds in time” and “a low-end sort of music”, it makes perfect sense that to translate a sentence from English into Spanish word by word will not work in a literary/lyrical text because the length and sounds of the words that represent the same concept in English or Spanish are different. Thus “the sounds in time” the translation delivers in the other language will not “sing”.

To make them sing, the translator must find, in the other language not only words that translate the meaning, but words that translate the music. And that is quite a difficult task.

As an example of how words are indeed a form of music, I invite you to listen to this traditional song that fits perfectly the words of Bécquer’s Rima XXV.

Please don’t feel discouraged if you don’t speak Spanish because music, as Robert Greenberg tells us above, is “a universal language.”

Enjoy!

Where Ideas Come From

From Bécquer Eternal

He was gone and back so fast that, but for the mask he held now in his hands I wouldn’t have noticed he had moved at all.

I stood and examined the mask, a delicate piece of art made of ivory silk with colorful feathers.

“Don’t you like it?” Bécquer asked, as I hesitated to pick it up.

“It’s beautiful.”

Again he smiled, the smile of a child pleased with himself. “Federico bought it for me last year when he was in Venice.”

Where Ideas Come From – 8

From The Revenge of the Wolf King

He stopped when we reached the river bank, and letting go of my hand, parted the reeds so very carefully. I saw it, then, white and slender, a bird made of light. It walked in the water on its long, slim legs, perfectly balanced, as if dancing to a music it could only hear.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

 

 

 

From Bécquer Eternal

I locked my car and went down the bank, to the gravel strip by the water where Ryan and Bécquer had come ashore.

A heron, white and slender, walked the shore hunting for food. The heron that had made it into the narrative of the manuscript Bécquer had agreed to represent.

But for the heron, the place was deserted. The boats and canoes that dot the lake in summer time, were now grounded ashore in the crescent shaped inlet to my left. And the owners of the cars sitting by mine were nowhere in sight.

Turning my back to the lake, I walked to the bench Bécquer and I had shared the previous night, and sat down.

The weather had been unusually mild this past October and the trees had just reached their full autumn colors, but the stunning beauty of my surroundings I had profusely photographed over the previous weeks, failed to impress me.

Maybe it was because the effect of Bécquer’s blood had worn off during the night, and, after perceiving the world through immortal senses, it seemed dull now that I was seeing it with my human eyes. Maybe it was, plain and simply, because Bécquer was not with me and I wished he were.

Never before published Rhymes by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer : Bécquer as Translator

Ciprés alto y airoso,

flor de corola oscura,

joven de ojos más negros

que la noche sin luna.

¿Ves ese vellón blanco

que leve el aire empuja?

Así pasan los días

para no volver nunca.

The Spanish publishing house, Reino de Cordelia, published in 2010 two stories, Abdallah, and Aziz y Aziza, written in French by Édouard Laboulaye, translated into Spanish by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, and illustrated by Bécquer’s brother Valeriano.

Because I am both a writer and a translator, I appreciate the difficulty intrinsic to a literary translation.

Technical translators must act as mirrors. They must “invert” (pour) the text into the other language while maintaining its meaning and the integrity of its sentences and structures.

The mission of the translator of a literary work is more complex. The one of the translator of a poem, near impossible. He/she must keep not only the meaning, but also the rhythm, assonance and alliteration of the original verses. In a few, perfect words, the translator must convey to us the story and, at the same time, touch our heart by provoking in us a visceral and mystique reaction that will transform us.

In his translation of the twelve rhymes included in these two novels, Bécquer passes the test with flying colors. The poems interspaced among the prose touched my heart as Bécquer’s own did, so long ago, when I read them for the first time, as a teenager, back in Spain.

Out of respect for the master, I won’t translate the poem into English. But, if you ever considered learning Spanish, reading Bécquer’s poems in his native language, could be as good an incentive as any. For I promise, they’re well worth the effort.

 Rimas inéditas de Bécquer: Bécquer traductor

La editorial Reino de Cordelia publicó en el 2010 dos novelas cortas, Abdallah, y Aziz y Aziza, escritas en francés por Édouard Laboulaye, traducidas al castellano por Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, y con ilustraciones de su hermano Valeriano.

Porque soy escritora y traductora aprecio por partida doble la dificultad intrínseca a una traducción literaria.

Un traductor técnico ha de ser como un espejo. Debe “invertir” (verter) el texto al otro idioma manteniendo su significado y la integridad de sus frases y estructuras.

La misión de un traductor de una obra literaria es más compleja. La de un traductor de poemas, casi imposible, pues ha de conservar no solo el sentido sino también el ritmo, la asonancia y la aliteración del texto original. En breves, perfectas palabras, el traductor nos han de transmitir la historia y, al mismo tiempo, provocar en nosotros una reacción visceral y mística que nos transforme.

En su traducción de las doce rimas incluidas en estas dos novelas, Bécquer pasa la prueba con nota alta. Los versos que salpican la prosa me conmovieron como los suyos propios hicieron, hace ya tanto tiempo, cuando los leí por primera vez durante mi mocedad en España.

Esperando que la editorial disculpe mi atrevimiento, he reproducido más arriba uno de ellos como ejemplo.

Where Ideas Come From – 7

From Bécquer Eternal by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

 

Outside the window, coming down Main, a blue BMW convertible waited at the light. As I watched, the roof rolled back and the sun poured inside the car, on the black hair and pale skin of the man who claimed to be Becquer. I held my breath, afraid that he would burst into flames. Across the distance, Becquer smiled and, in my head, I heard his laughter, a clear sound of childish joy. Before I could react, the light turned green and,with a slight movement of his hand, he shifted gears, and, disappeared in a blur of blue.

 

Bécquer Eterno
Un descapotable azul parado frente al semáforo me llamó la atención. Mientras lo miraba, el techo del mismo se abrió y el sol entró a raudales dentro del coche, bañando con su luz el pelo oscuro y la piel pálida del hombre que decía ser Bécquer. Contuve mi respiración, temiendo quizás que fuera a estallar en llamas. Bécquer miró en mi dirección y en mi mente escuché su risa, una risa clara de alegría infantil. Antes de que pudiese reaccionar, el semáforo se puso verde y, con un ligero movimiento de la mano, Bécquer cambió de marcha, y desapareció en un relámpago azul.

Bécquer tan Cerca (Bécquer so Close) in Sevilla, This Spring

 

by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

 

If Bécquer were alive today, as he is in my story, he’d be 176 years old.

To celebrate this, his native town of Sevilla (Spain) has organized an Exhibit about the beloved author who, through his felt poems of unrequited love, provided many generations of Spanish teens a voice to mirror their experiences.

In this exhibit called “BÉCQUER, TAN CERCA… A TRAVÉS DEL ARTE” (“Becquer, so close…through art”), a hundred artists—painters, musicians, goldsmiths, sculptors, poets and writers—will share their work done in remembrance of the great Spanish author.

I’m thrilled to announce that an Spanish edition of my paranormal novel Bécquer Eternal (Bécquer eterno) will be part of the exhibit.

If you want to learn more about the exhibit that will take place in Sevilla from May 25 to June 24, please go to:

http://blog.margadecala.com.es/?p=1824

There is more big news.

My publisher Astraea Press has sent me already the final covers for the book. And because I wanted to include the picture of the real Bécquer in the Spanish edition, Astraea has graciously agreed to provide two different covers.
Here they are:

I hope you like them as much as I do.

“Gazing into his eyes I feel as if I’m slowly drinking his blood.” Federico García Lorca

 

 

I have found the perfect quote for my adult paranormal Becquer Eternal in Federico Garcia Lorca’s play The House of Bernarda Alba. Which is totally fitting giving that Lorca is one of the main characters in the novel, and Both Becquer and Lorca are immortal.

The line is, “Gazing into his eyes I feel as if I’m slowly drinking his blood.”

 

In Search of the Perfect Title

by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban

Given that my agent has requested my full manuscript, I have stopped rewriting my query and, instead, dedicated my efforts to another, if possible, more difficult task: finding an enticing title.

I must confess that if writing a query/blurb/pitch is intimidating for me, looking for a title is paralyzingly scary. My track history of naming my books having been one of utter failure so far.

I called my first novel Leaving the Castle, a title that, in my opinion, conveyed my protagonist’s goal of leaving her father’s castle to find freedom and live life on her own terms. My editor didn’t agree and published it as Two Moon Princess (http://www.amazon.com/Two-Moon-Princess-Carmen-Ferreiro-Esteban/dp/1933718277/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1317490293&sr=1-1).

I thought I had found the perfect title when I named my most recent YA fantasy, Requiem for a King. But when I published my first page for critique at the writeon.com conference last year, I was told my writing was engaging but the title made my book sound terribly boring. Humbled by such comment, I changed the title to The Revenge of the Wolf King and, voila, my rate of manuscript requests increased substantially after I queried with the new title.

Seeing that my instincts cannot be trusted when it comes to naming my book, I studied the titles of many classical and modern books looking for inspiration. I also read many articles on the subject.

From Jane Lebak’s recent blog post, You Called it What? (http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2011/09/you-called-it-what.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+QueryTracker+%28QueryTracker.net%29) I copied the following advice:

“Your title should fit (and be specific for) your book.”

“It must fit your genre.”

It “should convey tension” and “elicit an emotional reaction.” A good title allows you to “predict the central conflict without knowing any more about the story.”

Overall the purpose of a title is to intrigue, to “entice someone to learn more about the book.”

It’s all great advice, yet still I can’t decide.

Here is the list I have compiled so far:

Becquer Immortal

Becquer Eternal

Meet Becquer

Becquer’s World

Becquer Forever

Any preference?