Johanna Montilla

What was your favorite book as a child?

My favorite book as a child was Peter Pan. I love to think there are adventures and a ‘Neverland’ somewhere for everybody, and I believe that the most important part to enjoy life is to keep our hearts young and to dream like a child does.

Do you remember the original reason or motivation why you started writing creatively?

I’ve always loved writing stories. As a little girl, I wrote stories with awful drawings but for me, they were masterpieces. Then in high school, I used to write love letters to my friends’ girlfriends (Shhh! That’s still a secret). Also, I wrote speeches for any important celebration, and in my senior year, I had the honor of being the valedictorian. At university and in the beginning of my career, I turned my writing into a research field. Many years later, I found a weekly writing group by accident and, after joining it, I went back to creative writing.

What was the most adventurous or thrilling thing you ever did/experienced?

The most adventurous and thrilling thing I’ve done is also the scariest: To move my family from a tropical country, from a city where the weather is 40 Celsius degrees almost every day, to a four-season country, and then to start over.

Do you listen to music while reading or writing?

No, I don’t listen to music while reading or writing. Instead, I’m fully focused on the story as if I were inside the pages, living every moment alongside the characters. I like to pour all my attention into the story, nothing else exists but the book and me.