“Falko’s Missing Files,” the third episode of the Mara Turing saga, is ready. After more than ten months of pounding away at the keyboard like a madman, I’ve managed to wrap up a book that I’m very proud of. “Falko’s Missing Files” is the best novel I know how to write to this day. I’m […]
Javier Padilla
‘Evil Reborn’, the second episode of the saga, is ready
‘Evil Reborn‘ is ready. The book debugger, Amparo Baca, is going over it with a red pen to mark possible bugs and correct them before sending the final version of the first edition to the printer. Writing this second part hasn’t been easy for me. Not easy at all. I suffered, in fact, from what […]
Three #FanArts of Mara Turing that I love
You, my young hackers, are legion. You grow in number every day, and I can only thank you for all the love and support. Need proof? Take a look at one of the chats we received this week: Hi, I bought your book for my son a while ago. Do you have any idea when […]
Hacking Classrooms: Useful Knowledge on Privacy and Technology for Children and Teens
I’ve visited some schools to talk about Mara Turing, and I must admit I’ve had some very fun and rewarding experiences. The setup is almost always the same: a classroom full of kids who come to listen to a stranger promising to talk to them about hackers, programming, the internet, mobile phones… and, on top […]
Mara Turing Hacked: When Your Book Gets Pirated
From the question mark (What’s my book doing there?) to the exclamation mark (What’s my book doing there!), only a few minutes passed. Very few. It was the time I spent going through several intermediate states: euphoria (Someone took the time to pirate me!), puzzlement (Could this be positive because it might help more people […]
What the kids think of my book
Receiving feedback from young readers is very special. They explain firsthand how they felt in each chapter, what they expect from the series, or which part they found easiest —or most difficult— to understand. They are my compass on this exciting journey.
Anna G. Sola: “To create Mara, I was inspired by Cristina, one of my best friends”
The day I discovered Anna G. Sola, she was denouncing an injustice on Twitter. Someone had asked her to work for free, basically, and had disguised it as an opportunity. The solidarity that occasionally appears on that social network —in the form of retweets— helped me discover her thanks to the echo her complaint had. […]
“Mum, I want to be a ‘painter’ like Picasso”
If Mara Turing existed in the world of art, I’m sure she would be very similar to Gema Moreno. The illustrator who has given shape and texture to the drawings of Mara Turing. Rise of the Hackers is a Spanish girl who lives in London, and whom I’ve had the luck to meet through her […]
How to write a perfect description for your book
While writing my book, I often pondered on how to define it. As a marketing and communication professional —or so I believe—, it’s important to know who your target audience is and what factors can sway a potential customer to choose your solution over another.
The wise ones who have helped me along the way
I dream of being a good writer someday, that’s why I like to draw inspiration from those whom I hold in such high regard. When Mara Turing was nothing more than a blurry plot, lacking nuances and with faintly drawn characters, I ventured to ask a few people about structure, creative process, inspiration, and so […]