Editor’s note: J.P. Foncea is Spanish lawyer who has written three books of a fantasy series based on the adventures of Ivan of Aldenuri, the first of which is now available in English thanks to a careful translation by Stephen Caro of Oxford. We recently interviewed Foncea via email and the results of our correspondence follow.

LA VOZ: What prompted you to write the series?

J.P. Foncea: A miracle, literally – or at least some curious event. Certainly something unexpected. I began to write on April 3, 2002, at 4 p.m., in my old office in San Sebastian, Spain. I was tired and dealing with a problem I had been trying to solve over many weeks. I don’t know why, but, to relax, I began to write and 40 minutes later I had the first pages of El Bosque de los Thaurroks (The Forest of the Taurocs). I didn’t know at that time I was writing a book. The realization came a few days later.

For more than a week I forgot about the file with the first pages of my first book. When I saw the file, I decided to delete it, thinking, “we are lawyers. We don’t write stories at work.”

I was just about to delete it when a miracle happened. A voice inside me said, “How can you delete something you haven’t even read? So, I opened it and read it. I decided right then to dedicate my free time to writing a book.

LV: Why do you write fantasy books for children?

JPF: I never made that decision. One day I began to write and I wrote about the only thing I knew I could – my inside world. This is a world where I express my love for three things: nature, history, and linguistics. If we mix them ...

all together, the result is my book.

When I talk about linguitics, I believe each word has a special force, that is, a given meaning. Let me give you an example. In my books there are monsters called “thaurroks.” You can feel the force of such a word. If the monsters were called “lulis,” there will be no dramatic force. I like to play with words.

LV: What’s the role of imagination in the life of a teenager?

JPF: Fantasy and literature in general are key elements in the formation of a teenager’s mind and values. It is very important for teens to have role models and stories with a positive impact in their cultural heritage.

LV: Where does the fantasy world of Aldenuri come from?

JPF: It has a lot to do with the golden years of my childhood and early youth. All the places I mention are imaginary places. They are more my memories than real places. There are, however, connections with real places in northern Spain and Europe’s western coast.

LV: What do you think your readers like about your books?

JPF: I don’t know. I just know they like my books. I have received very good critiques. I have traveled all across Spain and Mexico presenting my books and the readers were always enthusiastic about Iván de Aldénuri. This is something very unusual that motivates me to keep writing.

Both in Spain and in other countries young boys, 12 to 14 years old, told me my book was their first book and they read it three or four times. That’s something that makes me very happy.

LV: Do your stories have a moral or a lesson?

JPF: When I finished my first book, I thought about stopping writing, at least for a time, but then I read in a book by Mercedes Salisachs that the most ...

important thing about a book is the idea it shares. I have an imagination and many ideas, so I decided to keep writing.

Going back to your question, yes, there is a message in all my books. In my first book, the message is we all have a mission to accomplish in our lives. Some readers found other messages, and that’s OK.

The other books also have messages, but I prefer for the readers to discover the messages themselves.

LV: Is there anything else you would like to add?

JPF: The Epic of Iván de Aldénuri is a series of adventures in the style of Tolkien. There are three books:

El Bosque de los Thaurroks. In English: Ivan of Aldenuri, The Forest of the Taurocs.

La Herencia del Bèrehor. (First edition in Spain, March 2006.)

El Asedio de Muihl-Athern: (First edition in Spain, July 2008.)

The first book was translated by Stephen Caro, in Oxford. He has a Jewish-sefardic origin, so he knows Spanish very well. His translation is excellent. Somebody said it is better than the original. However, even before the book was translated, I found this posted at a Harry Potter web site:

“Also I found an amazing series (which is completely new and just book one is out) called: Ivan de Aldenuri which for now is available only in Spanish, but when the translation comes out I recommend you read it, principally if you like the Lord of the Rings/Eragon type of literature.”

We are also working to make a movie about Ivan de Aldenuri. Perhaps one day the movie will be shown in the United States.