"My book cries out against the silence surrounding abuse"

I've been feeling like I've won the lottery! It's an award that comes out of the blue, because it's not one you actively seek. The Guild of Booksellers of Catalonia issue it without running a competition. They called me to tell me I'd won the award and it was as if the world stopped turning and then started again. It has changed everything. Gradually building up a readership is all well and good, but there comes a time when you see a limit that you can't pass. Not to put too fine a point on it, an award like this can make you a bestselling author.

The book tells the story of two women who live a century apart. One lives in a rural setting and the other in an urban environment, but they both suffer. You might think that things would be harder for the one born in rural Catalonia at the beginning of the 20^th century. We absolutely shouldn't underestimate how a person can suffer in the welfare state though. Consider the number of suicides in our marvellous society, for example. It's more difficult to fight to get on in life at present ?particularly for a woman? than it was to fight to survive at the start of the last century. Psychological survival can sometimes be tougher than physical survival.

My book cries out against the silence surrounding abuse. More than an attack on actual abuse, I'm attacking that silence, which is often cultivated by the victims themselves. People who are abused, be it at home, at work or at school, have to realise that they're not to blame for what's happening to them. I've also placed emphasis on rural Catalonia at the beginning of the 20^th century because I feel that abuse in that context has hardly been discussed. Other than Víctor Català, I don't think anyone has mentioned it. Not using the same tone, at least.

Yes. Both the female characters need to write. It's a kind of therapy that helps them to ease their suffering. Tònia, the early 20^th-century character, does so in secret, because a dim view was taken of women writing in those days. She also reads a lot, and one of the books she gets her hands on is Víctor Català's Solitud. After reading it, she says to herself "this man really knows what women are like on the inside". When she discovers that Víctor Català is actually a woman using a pseudonym, however, she wonders why that other woman is able to write and publish books while she isn't. Years later, Tònia's great-granddaughter, Lali, who's looked down upon by the other children at her school, finds an imaginary friend in Solitud's main character. Lali's make-believe companion accompanies her over the course of her life until she feels ready to tackle her problems herself. There's another reference to Victor Català in the form of the author's birthplace, L'Escala. Tònia never gets to visit L'Escala, but Lali does so in memory of her great-grandmother.

It's true that there are more people looking to become published authors nowadays, but there are also more publications. Managing to get something published is very difficult, in any case. Like all artistic or pseudo-artistic fields, the literary sphere is a kind of paradise where you can communicate with readers and fans of your work, and it's very difficult to access. It took me 30 years to get something published! I'm glad that all my previous work didn't find its way onto the shelves though, as I don't think it was mature enough. Readers may or may not like my work, but I'm very pleased with the five books I've had published so far. I'm sure I wouldn't be as happy if the previous ones had been published, the ones nobody showed any interest in.

Regardless of the difficulties involved in publishing, I'd recommend that they consider their work very carefully. They should make sure it's sufficiently mature, rather than doing what I did and knocking on publishing houses' doors with things that weren't up to scratch. If they're not convinced that their work is up to standard, no problem, they should just keep on writing! They shouldn't hand it in anywhere, because a publisher who doesn't like it won't read anything of theirs again. But if they're sure that their work is good enough, they should move mountains to get a publisher to read it. Whatever it takes! You can turn out the light in a room, but more always creeps in under the door.

I think e-books will only change the way publishing looks on the surface. I don't think the number of authors or readers will be affected. I'm not used to reading e-books yet. I only use them for working or studying, not for reading novels. I still need paper, although I'll get used to e-books, just as I've got used to many other things. Audiobooks are very interesting too. In April, my book El jersei was the second bestselling audiobook in Germany. I still find that surprising, as it had been published in paper and e-book format at the same time. It's quite normal over there, though. People buy CDs to listen to books in their car or with their family, despite them being considerably dearer than conventional books.

I have to work all year round [laughs], but I only study at the UOC in spring and autumn. The rest of the time, I write as well. All I do is swap one activity for another.

Exactly. They're entirely unrelated! The work involved is completely different, and the writing systems have nothing in common either. Doing an assignment for the UOC is more like writing a script than literature. That involves giving your creativity free rein.

No, I couldn't study at a traditional university. I wouldn't do it. I understand that some people need to attend classes in person, but I need just the opposite. I need to be left alone to work and carry out research. That's why the UOC is ideal for me.

The content is what motivates me most, without a shadow of a doubt. What I'm learning is my incentive to study. I also really like the system of working, particularly the debates organised in the classrooms and when the tutors return your exercises with personalised corrections. It's a pleasure to get your work back with suggestions. It's great, you learn a huge amount like that.

Of course! [laughs] I've taken the toponyms from La nevada del cucut and written a novel set in 16^th-century rural Catalonia. In specific terms, it's inspired by the villages that used to lie around the old road from Vic to Olot, and it spans three generations. It's my first historical novel, and probably my last. I'm very demanding though, and it won't be seeing the light of day until it has been properly revised by historians. That's very clear in my mind.