Megan Maxwell at the Book Fair: Ten Years of Waiting and an Emotional Return

When Spanish writer Megan Maxwell appeared this afternoon on the stage of the José Hernández Room in the Red Pavilion at the Book Fair, applause erupted along with the light. Fewer than 500 readers awaited her with the same anxiety with which they await the release of each of her books .

Megan Maxwell is a renowned romance novelist who lives in a town near Madrid. Born to a Spanish mother and an American father, she has published more than 50 novels, as well as short stories and anthologies. "Pídeme lo que quieres ," her debut in the erotic genre, was adapted for film by Versus Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures Spain.

Maxwell sat next to her daughter, fellow writer Sandra Miró (who has already published five novels), and the mother-daughter conversation began. The author explained that she started writing when her children were young and hasn't stopped since: "When they told me they were going to publish my first book, my family and friends and I jumped at the chance as if we had won the lottery ," she recalled.

Maxwell came to the fair to present her latest book , A Savage Inheritance: The Maxwell Warriors 10 , at the invitation of Planeta Publishing. She hadn't been to Argentina for 10 years.

“Thank you for coming to spend Saturday afternoon with us,” she said. The first questions came from her daughter, Sandra, about her journey, from her first book, Wish Granted , to the 10th Warriors. “When I wrote Wish Granted , I didn't write novels, and I wrote that one for myself. That's why the protagonist is called Megan, and why I got myself an amazing boyfriend . But I never imagined there would be 10 more books to come, and that everything that happened, and what came after, would happen,” the writer said.

In her books, bestsellers in Spain and Latin America , the protagonists are women who take charge of their own lives and, even in the most difficult situations, continue forward accompanied by other women and their loved ones.

This new book is about one of Megan and Duncan's daughters, Amanda McRae . "My readers were always asking me, 'When are you going to write about Megan and Duncan's daughters?' And I told them, 'Let them grow up.' And now they're already in the 9th and 10th grades of warriors."

At Maxwell's request, the interview was open-ended, with some of the readers present speaking . Throughout the interviews, gratitude for her books and her characters emerged. "It helped me through the most difficult time of my life," said one reader. "I was able to make momentous decisions thanks to your characters," said another. "I'm so glad you liked my books; it's beautiful for me to write them," Megan replied.

When asked what it was like to return to the Fair a decade later, the author said: “It's like coming home a little. It's a beautiful country, where I'm welcomed with such warmth .”

"What projects do you have in mind?" her daughter asked during the interview. "Right now I've just finished Our Long Goodbye, which is coming out in Spain and will probably be coming here afterward. I'm already writing the one that will be out for Christmas, and I'm working on the film and the series (which are currently being shown in Europe)," the writer replied.

“Your pen saved us. Are you aware of how you reach your readers emotionally?” a young woman asked.

“ Writing them has been a real lifesaver for me, knowing that my novels have helped them get ahead or made them smile—that's wonderful to me. A girl once told me that her sister died young, and her mother had been unable to lift her head for a year. One day, she came home and found her laughing out loud because she was reading one of my books. 'That day, she became my mother again, after a year,' she told me,” Maxwell said.

But I also get some ugly things , the writer said: “Like an email from a man who said, ‘Thanks to your shitty writing, my wife has become empowered and asked me for a divorce, so you'll pay her alimony.’ Of course, I didn't reply,” she said, laughing.

During the talk, she shared that she had also received a message from a reader for whom her books had been a balm while undergoing chemotherapy: “ They even started a book club featuring my books . I feel very happy about that.”

Regarding her sources of inspiration, the writer said they are everyday life, music, and, of course, her readers . “Knowing that what I write gives them the strength to take control of their lives is what encourages me to continue; if the protagonists of my novels can do it, why can't my readers? My mother taught me all this. If we don't try, we'll never know if we can do it or not. Knowing that I give you strength is beautiful. Know that you also give me strength . Otherwise, how would I write three books a year?” said Maxwell.

“I always tell Sandra (her daughter) that we have the opportunity to talk about many things that make people uncomfortable , especially those related to women's power, because we're in the 21st century,” she added.

The encounter wasn't just emotional because of the writer's relationship with her readers; it was also full of humor: "When people started recognizing me on the street , I had to start combing my hair because I always went out with a ponytail and rushed my kids to school. Now I have to leave the house with my hair done," she told me. Or I'd run into someone at the supermarket and they'd say, 'You're Megan, I wasn't expecting you shopping at the supermarket.' And I'd say, 'I have to eat too.' And the photos would come out with a chicken in the background ."

In his words: “I went from a job where I was constantly getting yelled at for working on traffic tickets, to one where people told me, ‘Megan, you've helped me in my life .’ It's amazing!”