Interview with Silvia Weber, author of "The Wolves' Keeper Legend"

About the Author:

Sylvia Weber was born in the twentieth of June 1968, in a small town in the heart of Portugal. Until 1973, she grew up in a farm, in the shores of the river Tejo, in an environment in which the traditions, and the respect for Nature exerted a very strong influence in what concerns the development of personality. At the age of five, she moved to Abrantes, where she received the first multicultural perceptions from her neighbours, emigrants from Angola. In 1979, her parents left to Lisbon, after the bankruptcy of Metalúrgica Duarte Ferreira, but Sylvia stayed in Abrantes, living at Lady Annatia´s home and learning all the secrets of growing the most extraordinary roses. At the age of eleven, she was studying at a Christian nuns´ college, where she had her first steps on Christianity, but also lived side by side with legends, the same legends present in her stories.

In 1980, at the age of twelve, she moved with her parents to Lisbon, in the suburban Amadora, yet the second largest city of Portugal. The cultural confrontation with the cosmopolitan life was very deep, and it was definitively what made a writer out of Sylvia. The age of adolescence was a time of growing ideals and of commitment in the construction of a fairer society and of a better world. In the teenage years, Sylvia discovered the pleasure and the freedom of writing and she spent her every moment writing. At this time, her ideal was Leonardo da Vinci, and Sylvia wanted to learn everything about everything. So, she studied all the subjects she could get her hands to and all those allowed by the Portuguese legislation, within the areas of Literature and Science.

In 1987, she was admitted in the course of Modern Languages and Literature of the Universidade Nova of Lisbon, specializing, after five years, both in Education and Investigation. Thanks to her outstanding results in Linguistics, she was invited to participate in the elaboration of an International Dictionary, at the National Institute of Scientific Investigation. At the time, it was heavy to the choice the fact that Sylvia was already feeling in her blood the need to know the world. . Possibly, having immediately accepted such an offer would have taken her to a life of success and opportunities, which she hasn´t had in other way. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Scientific Investigation was closed for lack of funds.

Sylvia started, in 1992, an extraordinary teaching career, marked by the creativity and innovation which the pupils like so much. This career lasted sixteen years and provided wonderful and unforgettable moments. Even today, she keeps a friendly and supportive relationship with pupils of every year, which is significant of the trust and cordiality raised in her classes. During her career, Sylvia met many people from different nationalities and learnt how precious the difference is. She worked with Mozambican artists and accompanied the East-Timorese community in Portugal, in the very moment when they achieved Independence. She also studied with people from Angola, Mozambique, East-Timor, Cape-Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe Islands, Guinea and Italy, which was one of the most interesting experiences in her life. Then, she tried to work at the Camões Institute, but she was refused, as she didn´t have the same goals – she didn´t see the use of a fancy car with a driver, a house with a swimming pool and air conditioned, working in countries where people starve to death. She would go there for the pleasure of teaching children who are eager to learn and to help communities to grow. A Mozambican poet used to say: "We don´t want you to give us the bread, but instead to teach us how to seed." As a teacher, her most remarkable and unforgettable project was the Day of Peace, among many others.

In 1993, she married for the first time, but this relationship was marked by violence and suffering, having ended in a tragic way. But as in every storm there is always a ray of sunshine, Sylvia had in 1994 a wonderful son.

Sylvia never lost the interest and the enthusiasm for her intellectual development and she went on studying and creating, year after year. Thanks to her work she gathered a remarkable collection of certificates and diplomas.

In 2002, she lived her first happy love story and she married the artist Robert Weber. In 2004, she had two little twin girls.

In 2006, she moved from Cascais to her home town, looking for the paradise of her childhood, but as times and mentalities change, this world was already lost. What she found was a world of preconceptions, and this was the stone in the water to her decision of leaving to England.

A whole series of tragic happenings, which started with her father´s death, due to a dilatory and inefficient Justice, and proceeded with the fact of being refused to her husband the possibility of applying for Nationality, without any reason, made her decide to look for new horizons. The choice was pending, then, among USA, Canada, Ireland and UK. At the time, the UK was the most receptive, due to the fact that the GTCE approved her application for QTS in the seventh of May, and the work proposals were raining.

In September of 2007, she left to England with her husband, taking only a van loaded with essential goods (music, photos, books and clothing), a handbag of documents and a heart full of hope.

The start wasn´t easy: without work or references, renting a house was a true drama. After having travelled up to Scotland with her husband and having slept several nights on the road, Sylvia returned to Essex, where she finally could find a generous heart who opened the doors to her.

The first job she had in UK was in a prestigious Care Home, but the procedures and the absence of Love she found around her made her give up after two months, even though she had a very affective relationship with the elderly people she cared for. Then, she started teaching, but the agent who used to find the placements for her left the company and there was no more work.

In February of 2008, she found a job in a supermarket chain, doing the night shift. After eight months of very successful work at night, she was given a day shift, at her own request. She was deceived with promises of a brilliant future, "Sky is the limit", and suddenly Sylvia realized that she had no perspectives. Then, having acquired a deeper and deeper knowledge of the business world, she decided to study Management Accounting, an interesting course which represents an adequate challenge to her intellectual ability.

Visit her website at http://www.wolveskeeperlegend.com/

About the Book:

".... From the beginning of time, it seemed that rivalry between man and wolf was at the root of man's dislike for the animal, discovered only too well by Sealgair. Was his fate forever to be condemned to isolation, to see terror and hate in the eyes of the once he once loved? All he could see in his mind was the last pictures of Awena's beloved face, which he carried in his heart for all his life.

Was the only way out to discover the special secret held by the papyrus-pearls in the stone pot - what secrets could this hold? And which stone pot could keep that precious secret when there were so many of them?

Seanns' quest to find the pearls and uncover the secret ended with tragic consequences, resulting in him not only discovering the truth of his birth and who his real mother and father were, but the realisation that his father lived among the wolves..."

Silvia agreed to an interview with me. This is what she had to say:

Where are you from?

I was born in Abrantes, a small town in the centre of Portugal.

When and why did you begin writing?

I began writing at twelve years old, when I moved with my family to Amadora. By then, I was a very lonely teenager, living in a world of stone, far away from my beloved trees, facing different demands of a society where appearances are more important than genuine feelings. I had to create an alternative world, a world where I could feel free.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I always dreamt of being a writer, but I only considered myself a writer when I managed to publish my book.

What inspired you to write your first book?

I was inspired by nature; the trees, the mountains, the rivers always remained in my heart. I found another inspiration in people. I´ve always been a friend of people. There was no specific happening or person whop inspired me to write this particular book.

Do you have a specific writing style?

I have a writing style that I developed ever since I was in school. My teacher called it a poetic prose.

How did you come up with the title?

I never can find a title before starting a book. I´ve always been told that "The title comes at the end", and it´s true. Once started, the story and the characters no longer depend on what the author wants them to do, but the story assumes a course of its own, instead. When I finally finished the book – this much I was surprised – the title came naturally.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Many messages, which I call the keys to this book – Love your children; Respect the elders; Protect the Earth.

How much of the book is realistic?

There is nothing of realistic in this book. There are purely fantastic situations, and verisimilar ones; I mean: this would happen if...

Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?

I have influences of impressive people I knew, like Lady Briallen (the name is fictitious) or one extraordinary priest, like Cíbeir, whom I knew when I was in secondary school.

What books have influenced your life most?

I was influenced by the Holy Bible, which taught me that there is one Love, one world, one Humanity, no differences between people, one only belief, that is universal, no matter which name we call it, the depth and the essence of personality, fantasy and reality. I was influenced by The mists of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley, which introduced me into a different world, a world of fairies and magic, of kings and swords, of honour and freedom. I was very influenced by the Earth´s Children series, by Jean M. Auel; a sequence of books which unveiled another world, another kind of people, the past and the future of Humanity and of the Earth.

If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor?

Jean M. Auel, without a shadow of doubt. She did a deep research and was very accurate in the reconstitution of the pre-Historical world. She explored the nature, but also the mentalities, the sociological structure of the society, the fears and hopes of our ancestors. At last, she created a work that I can´t stop reading – thrilling, vehement, amazing.

What book are you reading now?

I´m reading The Sign and the Seal, by Graham Hancock. It is another extraordinary research – a man´s modern quest for the lost Ark of the Covenant. It is a very interesting journey through the ancient and the modern world and gets to an astonishing conclusion!

Are there any new authors that have grasped your interest?

There is one special lady, Roz Savage, who wrote the book Rowing the Atlantic and is crossing the Pacific alone, right now, from Hawaii to Australia. Another amazing lady, in South Africa, has a Blog, 1 door away from heaven, where she writes the most beautiful poetry I´ve ever seen. She signs up as Shadow. In The Plot, I read about Hunsinger, who wrote the book Axe of Iron: the settlers, the first of a series. By the presentation, it must be really interesting and is on my plans to read it.

What are your current projects?

I am researching for my new book, and I´m studying Management Accounting.

Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

In Portugal, new authors are very lonely people. I´ve had no support at all.

Do you see writing as a career?

Every writer would like to have a writing career, but very few fulfil this dream, I think. There are many activities and professions, though, which are associated with writing, as working to magazines, newspapers, Internet, Journalism, which I could feel as an accomplishment. Teaching is also a very rewarding profession.

What do you think makes a good story?

Imagination and knowledge, together, are unbeatable. A good story is the one we are able to get into and live, whether it is through imagination or reality.

Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it?

I learned something that my father used to tell me many times – to find the strength and the inspiration within. I understood that I could exceed myself – to give more than I thought I could, to be more than I thought I would.