A sensuous book, from beginning to end, and now, available in paperback! I reviewed this book when it first appeared in hard cover, and was absolutely captivated by the depth of emotion in the story. I also enjoyed the action, and fell in love with the very realistic characters.

The main character is Feliu Delgado, who was “almost born happy”. After a nearly disastrous birth, he is presumed to be born dead. His mom wanted him to be named “Feliz” with means “Happy” in Spanish. She had his brother, who was still a young child, write the name on a paper for the man who writes the birth and death certificates. The man could not read the writing, and instead wrote “Feliu”, the name of a saint. Almost born happy. Poor Feliu spends large parts of his life being “almost happy”.

As a child, Feliu receives a gift of a Spanish bow for a cello. Thus begins his love for music, and the adventures it leads him on. For a more detailed review and description of this book, click here.

Author Andromeda Romano-Lax was kind enough to stop by Book Sandwich, and do an interview with me.

Jen Thorpe:Hello Andromeda, and welcome to Book Sandwich.

Andromeda Romano-Lax: Hi Jen! Thanks for this great opportunity.

JT:When you contacted me, you mentioned you were going on a “virtual book tour”. How does that work, exactly? Do you feel the tour is going well? Are you enjoying it? How does it compare to a regular book tour?

A R-L: Often book tours are set up by a company. I had a publicist arrange some virtual opportunities a year ago, when The Spanish Bow was first released, but this time I decided to do it myself, by poking around online, visiting book blogs and sites, including ones that had already mentioned my book. What I’m finding is that I love this new book blogging world, and I love having the opportunity to “talk” directly with readers. Some of my favorite book reviews have been ones written by book bloggers; in some cases they connected with and understood my novel better than print reviewers, or perhaps it seems that way because they wrote their reviews from the heart.

I also started my own blog this year at 49writers.blogspot.com. The blog focuses on Alaska books and authors, in addition to my own writing and publishing experiences. It’s easier and more enjoyable for me to promote other people’s books than my own.

JT:I adore the cover on the hardcover version of “The Spanish Bow”. When the paperback came out, the cover was so different that I did not immediately recognize that it was the same book! Both the covers are very dramatic, in different ways. Do you prefer the artwork of one over the other? Did you have any input about what the two book covers would look like?

AR-L: I loved the hardcover when it first came out – red and rich and atmospheric. But I think I like the paperback cover even better, because it shows the main character and setting more clearly. It almost looks like a movie poster to me, and boy, would I love this novel to become a movie! The soundtrack would be awesome. (To answer the followup question: no, there isn’t a movie in the works, but I have had some nibbles.) I had little say about either cover but I think the designers did a fabulous job.

JT: Music is such an important part of this story, that it is almost, but not quite, it’s own separate character. What kinds of music were you listening to while you were writing this book? Are you a fan of classical music or do you prefer something else?

AR-L: Trivia you’ll find nowhere else; exclusively to Jen: in truth, I was formerly (in the early 1980s) a fan of punk and the first article I ever wrote was about my own experiences as a garage-band guitarist . (This was published in Seventeen magazine when I was 18 years old. I can scarcely believe it myself.)

But then I turned toward the classical world. My passion for the cello was the motivation for writing The Spanish Bow, and I listened to lots of great cello and piano CDs of composers like Manuel de Falla, Elgar, Debussy, Bach, and Albeniz while I was writing the novel. For a while, I had a theme song that ran through my brain for each character. Aviva, for example, was personified by the piece “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens. You can find some of these music clips at my website www.romanolax.com.

I should add that The Spanish Bow is being translated into 10 languages, and in some countries, an effort has been made to connect music more directly with the book. In Germany, for example, the publisher had a professional cellist perform at public readings of the book. In China, there has been some interest in putting together a related CD. If I were an American reader, I would stick an Albeniz piano or Yo-Yo Ma cello CD into the player, pour myself a glass of red wine, grab a few olives, and then read.

JT:Do you play any musical instruments yourself? Does anyone else in your family?

AR-L:I play cello – not particularly well, mind you. After I sold my novel, I was able to afford to buy a piano, and in the 3 years since that time, my children have learned to play, eclipsing my own minor musical abilities. I get teary listening to my 14-year-old son play Chopin and my 10-year-old daughter playing the blues. I recently bought an electric guitar as well (those old garage-punk roots die hard) but I think I might do better sticking with classical.

JT:I was impressed with how real this book feels, as though it was a remarkably entertaining autobiography of the main character, instead of a work of fiction. Did the main character, Feliu, exist? Was he based on a real person? Was “El Nino” real? Picasso appears for a cameo, and we know he was a real person, but, what about the other characters? What else in this book was taken from “real life”?

AR-L: Feliu was originally inspired by the great Spanish/Catalonian cellist Pablo Casals, but I changed so many details that the end result is a fictional character. The same is true for Al-Cerraz, who was originally inspired by the pianist and composer Isaac Albeniz. I kept his playboy personality and changed practically everything else, including the time period in which he lived and the major events of his life. For minor characters, I stuck much more closely to the facts, especially for Queen Ena and King Alfonso of Spain, Picasso, Hitler, Franco, Kurt Weill, Bertolt Brecht, and the composers Elgar and de Falla. Yet other characters are completely imagined.

JT:What kind of research did you do in preparation for writing this book? How long did it take before you were able to start putting the story together?

AR-L:I traveled to Puerto Rico, Spain, and France; I studied the cello, interviewed musicians, visited archives and opera houses; I ate Iberian ham and drank cheap Rioja wine and sampled lots of Catalonian liqueurs. I know – it’s a terrible job, but someone has to do it. Seriously, though, I tried to absorb and compress a century of Spanish history and music into a novel that is also about love and friendship. It was a pleasure to research and write, and took me about 4 to 5 years.

JT: Often, when authors write from the viewpoint of a main character that is the opposite gender from themselves, they tend to miss the mark. Feliu, however, was completely convincing. Did you find it challenging to write from his viewpoint, or did it just come naturally? I’m always impressed when authors do this well.

AR-L: Feliu came so naturally to me, that I probably should be worried. Why is there an externally-angst-ridden, internally-passionate little Catalonian man living inside my head? Deciding what he would say or do next was no problem at all; I felt I knew him as well as I know myself.

JT: I cannot think of another fiction book with a cellist as a main character. What can you tell my readers about how and why you decided to write a book about a cello player?

AR-L:Because I love the cello, which to me is one of the most sensuous and human instruments there is. There is something about the voice – so human, so humble – that worked perfectly with the story I was trying to tell. The cello is not show-offy; it is sincere and beautiful in a melancholic way, like my main character, Feliu.

JT:What other projects do you have going on right now?

AR-L: I’m working on novels #2 and #3, not quite sure yet which one will see the light of day, but the research for these latest works has taken me to England and the Middle East, and back home to Alaska, where I live. I also dabble in nonfiction.

JT:Where can my readers go to find out more about you and your writing?

AR-L: My blog at 49writers.blogspot, and my website at romanolax.com.

The Spanish Bow is an exciting trip into an imagined past that is also very real. Readers who enjoy classical music, or who are musicians themselves will connect with Feliu in both how passionate he feels about music, as well as his intense connection with his instrument. This book is also something that will appeal to people looking for a love story with somewhat “star crossed” lovers, and those who enjoy historical fiction. Now that the book is in paperback, it will be even easier on your pocketbook when you go grab a copy for yourself.

A sensuous book, from beginning to end. The physical book itself is a treat all on it’s own. Rich, deep red cover. Slightly raised gold title, in flowing script that looks painted on, and still wet. Gold border tracing it’s way around the front cover. The only object pictured is the end of a bow for a cello, curving across the cover. The pages inside are thin, and smooth to the touch, much more so than the paper used in most hard cover books today. Treat yourself to a hardcover copy of this book, don’t wait for the paperback version.

The story is just as rich and sumptuous. Not a work of historical fiction, because the main characters are not supposed to be specific actual people. Instead, the author modeled them from a few actual people, and modified things to fit the story. She included “cameos” of actual historical people, including Pablo Picasso, to my delight. Some of the book takes place during actual times of war, which the author includes in the story. The result of all this is that this book feels like a work of historical fiction anyway. Just as detailed, just as developed.

The main character is Feliu Delgado, who was “almost born happy”. After a nearly disastrous birth, he is presumed to be born dead. His mom wanted him to be named “Feliz” with means “Happy” in Spanish. She had his brother, who was still a young child, write the name on a paper for the man who writes the birth and death certificates. The man could not read the writing, and instead wrote “Feliu”, the name of a saint. Almost born happy. Poor Feliu spends large parts of his life being “almost happy”.

His father dies when he is a small child, leaving behind a package of gifts for his family. His mother lets Feliu choose his gift first, and he selects a Spanish bow for a cello. From that moment on, music is a huge part of his life. It gives him meaning, brings him hope, helps him survive the rough times. Feliu doesn’t just hear the music. He experiences each note as having a separate color, and a separate flavor, and the author describes that beautifully. It’s all about the music.

This story is told entirely from Feliu’s vantage point, because he is telling his life story to a reporter. (Wait until you find out who that person really is!). He has some exciting times, all as a result of being a cello player. Feliu learns to play on the street with other musicians when he is young. He becomes part of the Spanish king’s court when he is older, making friends with Queen Ena, who was from England, and being instructed by a wonderful cello teacher. Feliu has an intense relationship with this teacher’s daughter, who has her own ideas of how to learn to play a duet.

As a young boy, Feliu meets a famous piano player who was then going by the name “El Nino”. When Feliu is older, the two meet again, and spend years traveling together and performing shows, first becoming friends, and later, they might as well be brothers. The two team up with a woman who plays the violin, who has a very mysterious and secret past, which she slowly reveals to Feliu. The three are inseparable, until, once World War Two begins, they do separate before finding each other again. The intensity of the relationships between the three never fades.

The Spanish Bow is a passionate, intense, sensual book. You need not be a fan of the cello, or even of historical fiction to get into this story and really enjoy it. It’s beautiful, and sad, and filled with a sense of longing that makes the reader ache in sympathy with the suffering characters. Fans of the movie “Amadeus”, (which was about Mozart), will fall especially hard for this book. I was impressed by how much I enjoyed it, considering that I usually avoid books that include so many details about politics, and considering that while I enjoy music, I am no musician. The book is like dark, rich, chocolate. You will be surprised by how much you enjoy this treat.