Vivian López Llamas mixes experiences, fiction and reality in her first novel “Improvised Destinations”

“I retired… I entered into another resignation. And now we are here!” express Vivian Lopez Llamas minutes before starting the presentation of his first novel “Improvised Destinations”.

Entering the literary world was not in the plans of this narrator born in Uruguay, but raised in the Caribbean, who has a successful career in the corporate communications industry. However, her peculiar experiences in Africa and the insistence of her acquaintances, among whom is the writer Mayra Santos Febres, led the new writer to sit down and write. And so he did!

“Writing a novel is already entering into a complex genre and even more so when you have historical and geographical references so unknown to most readers,” said López Llamas in an aside with El Nuevo Día. The appointment with the readers, It was last August 29 in the Casa Norberto bookstore in Plaza Las Américas at 6:30 pm

The presentation of the novel was in charge of the renowned Puerto Rican writer, literary critic and professor, Carmen Dolores Hernandez. “One is not always so pleasantly surprised when faced with the adventure of reading a new author”assured the columnist in this newspaper.

“Reading novels is one of the great pleasures in life,” Hernández began by saying during the presentation. “I started reading the book, which we present here today. I confess… with modest expectations. I finished reading it with admiration for the originality of its approaches, for its characters, and for its ability to capture the reader and put them into a story that is increasingly exotic and endearing,” he explained.

Although “Improvised Destinations” is her debut novel, the writer admitted that she flirted a little with the idea of ​​writing a work when she submitted her story “Cherry Burst” to a literary contest from this newspaper in 2014 and was a finalist. Likewise, she won the Ana María Matute award in Spain.

“Writing a novel is like giving birth, but with twins,” he joked.

In “Improvised Destinations”, the reader will learn the story of Mariana and all the characters that surround her, who narrates in great detail how at only 24 years old, while living in Madrid, she ended up in Nigeria after independence and the Biafra War. There she understood that, despite how surprising the forks in the paths are, control is exercised by each person, either by conviction or intuition of where they want to go. This, throughout 41 chapters, in a mix between fiction and reality.

Regarding his next project, López Llamas revealed that he already has his next “baby” in the “oven.” “It has to do with Cuba… from the perspective of a girl,” she said enthusiastically. The writing experience has been so rewarding that he said it will continue. “When a person starts writing… they never stop doing it,” he said.

“Improvised Destinations” It is available in print and digital versions on Amazon, and in Casa Norberto bookstores in Plaza Las Americas and Norberto González in Piedras River.