What is the best thing that I love about my work?

Storytelling has always been the path of sages and healers. I love spending hours crafting a new narrative or retelling an ancient one, several times I try to combine both by weaving plots in order to generate a timeless space.

Writing takes me to parallel dimensions, but at the same time, they mirror my life adding meanings and secret messages to myself. Characters seem to whisper their words and during the creative process we walk side by side. But maybe the best comes from sharing my narratives with readers. Most of the time their comments add lovely perspectives, so I came to believe that books are actually a creative triad: writer/reader/text.

What is my idea of happiness?

Living in nature.

What is my greatest fear?

I have a recurrent nightmare: the third world war produces a tsunami that floods my grandparents’ beach town and everyone desperately tries to climb the mountains in order to survive. My greatest fear is humanity’s lack of respect for nature should turn into an environmental disaster.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

Shyness. I wish I enjoyed partying and had better social skills.

Which living persons in my profession do I most admire?

Mary O’Donnell, Sarah Baume, Harry Browne, all of them are Irish writers, Itamar Vieira Junior and Paulo Coelho from Brazil, Vietnamese writer Ocean Vuong, Haruki Murakami from Japan, Gabor Maté, a Hungarian author living in Canada, Daniel Munduruku and Ailton Krenak, both are Brazilian indigenous writers, Chérie Dimaline, indigenous writer from Canada, Byung-Chul Han, from Korea and Stephen King from the US.

Picture credits: Priscila Nemeth

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

I hate finishing a narrative and sending it for my literary agent, Oscar Garcia, to negotiate its rights. I always feel the emptiness of post natal depression. Publishing is a slow business and sometimes it takes several months, or years, for a book to be edited, illustrated and distributed.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

Being a writer has many facets. I was deeply happy and inspired during the months I lived in Dublin, Ireland. Everything about the town is somehow connected to literature. It was wonderful to attend lectures, performances, plays, and, most of all, to meet my peers at the Inkies, my writers group, and their creative writing sessions. As a storyteller I love sharing with kids, their parents and their teachers at book fairs and schools in Brazil, where I live.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

I would love to be able to learn how to draw and sometimes illustrate my own books.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

I have published 103 books in 40 years living as a professional author so I keep several memorable moments in my mind. I would like to mention the day I saw my first gothic novel, Lenora, published by editora Rocco, the day I attended to the 1001 ghosts play, an adaptation of my first thriller for middle grade readers, I must also mention the premiere of Warner’s production of The Best things in the world, adapted from the series Mano, co-written with late journalist and human rights activist Gilberto Dimenstein. In December of 2022, I was delighted to publish my first magical realism novel, The Musician, in English, in the US, by Koehler books. Last but not least, it felt magical seeing this book translated into Portuguese, O Músico, and published by Editora Nova Fronteira, rio de janeiro.

Where would I most like to live?

In the green mountains of Minas Geraes, in a lovely small country house, surrounded by chickens, birds, deers, cats, dogs and horses.

What is my most treasured possession?

My great grandfather’s broken pocket watches. I keep them around my computer to remind me that time should stop every time I write.

What is my most marked characteristic?

Resilience

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

Ibirapuera park, in São Paulo, my home town in Brazil.

What is my favorite place to eat and drink in my city?

Liberdade, the Asian district in São Paulo, where you can find excellent Asian restaurants, peaceful temples and zen gardens.

What books influenced my life and how?

“The Aleph” by Argentinian writer, Jorge Luis Borges. The narrator loses the love of his life and, in mourning, decides to visit her family. This is how he meets Carlos Daneri, a poet, who convinces him that the house contains an Aleph – a point in space holding other points which enables one to have a vision of the entire universe. The story speaks about love, loss, infinity and the ultimate reality. The trope of timelessness became a leitmotif in my own novels.

“The razor’s edge” by English writer William Somerset Maugham. This 1944 novel brings to life Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I who leaves Europe, goes to India and becomes a yogi. His personal self searching journey is now legendary and inspired so many artists. I first quoted the book in my novel, Lenora, and later I decided to create Thomas, for, The Musician, who also leaves a wealthy, high society milieu to live closer to nature.

“The Sufis” by Idries Shah, this is a remarkable guide to life encompassing strategies for storytelling, history and philosophical teachings. Sufi savants had an enormous, yet subtle influence in western literature, especially from the seventh century which can be traced through the works of Roger BAcon, Sir Richard Francis Burton and Hans Christian Andersen.

Unconditional love and peacemaking are valued in sufi storytelling, strong underlying concepts “smuggled” as humorous tales. Mathias, the wise villain in my novel, Visiting Dreams, published by Estrela Cultural, has been directly inspired by his teachings.

You Only Die Once. What music would I listen on my last day?

Internal flight by Estas Tonne

Who is my hero or heroine in fiction?

Charles Dicken’s Oliver Twist.

Who are my heroes and heroines in real life?

Paulo Freire, Brazilian author of Teachers as cultural workers, Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit was a Polish Jewish pediatrician, educator, children’s author and pedagogue, who rescued 200 kids from the ghetto during the Second World War. Nise Magalhães da Silveira, a Brazilian psychiatrist and Jungian analyst who revolutionized treatments for mental health using art and literature as powerful healing tools.

Which movie would I recommend to see once in a lifetime?

The Great Dictator, by Charles Chaplin.

What role play stories in my life and work?

I like to say: tell me your favorite stories and I will tell you who you are. I need to create, read and listen to narratives in order to be able to translate my feelings, my dreams, my life.

What do the words ‘You are the storyteller of your own life mean to me?

I believe telling your own story doesn’t mean trying to control your own narrative, but rather to decipher it on a deep level.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

My daughter, Priscila, is my greatest fan, but I get lots of artistic support from her father, Tuca Nemeth, long life friends and family. She was the one who introduced me to Victor Scatolin, a very talented poet, translator and performer who has been writing with me for 15 years now. Together, we also research, give workshops and lectures about literature.

Which people or companies would I like to work with ?

I would love to have my stories adapted to the screen again. I would also love to be published by international publishers in foreign languages in companies such as Harper Collins, Gallimard, Hachette, Planeta Tangerina, Grupo Planeta, among others.

What project am I looking forward to working on?

Victor and I have just started to develop a gothic novel with an intriguing title: 168. We are still doing some research, but planning its plot has already been a lot of fun.

Where can you see me or my work?
http://www.heloisaprieto.com
https://www.instagram.com/heloisa.prieto/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helo%C3%ADsa_Prieto
https://www.facebook.com/HeloisaPrieto/
https://www.youtube.com/@heloisaprieto7255

What do the words “Passion Never Retires” mean to me?

To me it translates as: I still hold too many stories to tell before the day I die.

Which creative professionals should Peter invite to tell their story?

1- Harry Browne (hbrowne4@gmail.com)
2- Greg Fields (greg_fields@outlook.com)
3- Tadg Paul (tigger04@gmail.com)
4- Catriona Murphy ( Catriona-Murphy@hotmail.com)
5- K M Cookie (areyoucreating@outlook.com)
6- Ron de Christoforo (rondx240@gmail.com)
7- Beto Junqueira (beto.junqueyra@estrelacultural.com.br)
8- Ricardo Dunder (ricardodunder@gmail.com)
9- Victor Scatolin (victorserra1982@gmail.com)
10 – Elaine Reardon ( ear@crocker.com)

How can you contact me?
heloisaprieto@gmail.com
http://www.heloisaprieto.com
https://www.instagram.com/heloisa.prieto/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helo%C3%ADsa_Prieto
https://www.facebook.com/HeloisaPrieto/
https://www.youtube.com/@heloisaprieto7255