SUZY HEKAMIAH Award-winning Brazilian Writer

TALKS ABOUT HER CAREER IN THE US AND LAUNCH OF THE BOOK DEMODEE

Award-winning Brazilian writer Suzy Hekamiah talks about her career in the US and the book launch of Demodée. Suzy Hekamiah is a writer, screenwriter and digital artist in the entertainment industry, born in Caxias do Sul -RS, has gained international prominence for her work in literature. Based in Los Angeles, Suzy since the age of five fell in love with creating stories and the art of messing with people's imagination and herself. Movies and cartoons were his main companions. Since he was young, he discovered the power of Art to cause strong emotions in people and fell in love with it. And like every child, he had his imaginary friends who became characters in his books. Suzy started writing professionally at the age of 18, when she signed with Literata to publish two short stories of Literatura Fantástica. Since 2009, he has participated in more than 50 books as a short story writer and poet, he has two individual books and a comic book published in Mexico. She was one of the organizers of the National Book Week of Caxias do Sul in 2013 and 2014. In 2018, she won the Fantastic Literature Trophy, in 2019 she won the Monteiro Lobato Trophy for participation in anthologies and has participated in literature panels and events for Brazil. Here at Fashion Magazine NY she tells you all about her career! Check it out!

Suzy, when did your contact with literature begin? SUZY - This is interesting because it was even before I started reading. It was through the comics that my older brother picked up at school or when we went on a trip and my parents bought something for us to read. I have a collection of over 700 comic books. Did art and literature help you with problems during your life? SUZY - Literature is still my best therapy. And I see the world in a different way; I see first through the spiritual and then through the material. And how one influences the other. Writing is the record of these emotions and experiences that I seek to transform into new worlds. I believe that Art is often a way of transforming pain into something beautiful that will help heal other pains. During the period I had anorexia was when I got more attached to writing more poems, almost 400 manuscripts in a year and I often get inspired by real situations to create a character and put in him the dialogues that I would like to speak. Can you tell us a little about the beginning of your creation process? SUZY - Well, I imagined stories in games like any other child and that playful side has always been with me. I played alone most of the time and that must have had an influence. So, for me it has always been magical to write Fantasy scenarios and situations that I would like to live. Today I don't see it as an escape from reality as I saw it as a child, but I feel that what I imagine should just be written down.

You have published your works on the internet. What is the importance of these works on the internet within your career? SUZY - I loved this question! Because it matches a lot with the beginning of my career and there is still great importance. In the beginning, when I was looking for publishers to present my originals (and they had an expensive budget for that), I decided to make a blog and started writing my chronicles, poetry and other ideas there... So, I started to write promote this same blog in Literature forums and in one of these forums I learned about the selection for short stories in a vampire anthology in 2019 and that's when I sent two short stories and both were selected and I never stopped publishing. There is a large audience of literary bloggers who always seek to publish stories online and on internet portals that I was a columnist for texts on spirituality. The advantage of publishing on the internet is that contact with new and current readers is more direct and dynamic and it becomes more feasible to build a network of thinkers and readers. Currently most teenagers and some adults as well, do not consume physical books, only digital ones. What do you think of this process? SUZY - I think it's normal because just as computers replaced typewriters and cds replaced vinyl, sooner or later there would be some technological change with books that would draw more attention from the current generation. My generation switched from CD stores to cell phones and books are also undergoing this change. Particularly, I prefer the physical book because I like to collect and looking at a monitor to read for a long time is not comfortable for me. But there is the downside to all of this; Some bookstores and events are not surviving due to the lack of public and digital books cost less. This is good for the reader, but not always for the author. Do you consume digital content? SUZY - I consume a lot, but I'm very selective. I usually look for the content of what I let social networks point me to and many books and digital magazines I follow because I love the work.

What are your references in the literature?

SUZY - I admire the careers of Maurício de Souza, Shakespeare, Mario Quintana, Stephen King and my friend and French writer Sire Cedric. But generally speaking I read a lot of Plato, Socrates and other Greeks for inspiration. I read more didactic and scientific books than my Fiction field. Do you have projects in development? Books, poems... SUZY - I am currently putting together my first collections of short stories by themes. I'm gathering the ones I've released in anthologies and writing new ones. They will be collections of Fantastic Literature, but also of poems and chronicles. At the same time, I'm working on two children's books for this year, launching my book Démodée and participating in more selections of anthologies (there are already more than 50 participations) and I don't intend to stop if I think the work of the publisher is cool, because that's a good way to be in constant contact with new readers. Other than that, I'm looking to enter the games market with some partnerships about some of my stories. What are your plans for the future? Is there something within your job that you have never done and still want to do? SUZY - I really want to write for movies, series, games and Virtual Reality. My focus now is moving towards audiovisual and probably writing for games will be my focus this year. You are considered an expert in fantasy literature, what genres do you write? SUZY - I write mainly Dark Fantasy, Gothic Horror, Science Fiction, poems and screenplays in general. It all depends on my mood, work or what I'm absorbing culturally at the time of the project.

You receive an honor this month, tell me more details? SUZY - The award is part of the OMDDH - World Organization of Human Rights Defenders and is one of the greatest honors of my literary career. Since I started to work lecturing in schools and reached part of my work with young people and children, I realized that part of my mission was not just to talk about my characters and their journey, but how reading has the power to change our lives is scientifically proven, how good it is for our health. This honor is just proof that I think I'm on the right track in turning new people into readers. Tell us about the launch of your book Démodée? SUZY - If all goes as planned, the book DÉMODÉE will be launched at the Rio de Janeiro Book Biennial, or soon after (in September) and will then be available in physical stores and online. I'm also thinking of organizing a launch in Los Angeles for the English version next year.

CREDITS :

WRITER - Suzy Hekamiah @suzy.hekamiah PHOTOGRAPHER - Bryan Aguillar @bryansperspective HMUA - Timeless Creations Salon & Spa LLC @timelesscreationssalon PRESS PROMOTER : Márcia Dornelles Comunicação @marciadornellescomunicacao