Today we’d like to introduce you to Berenice.
Hi Berenice, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Berenice B. Navarro, and I am a writer. It took me almost half my life to say that. For as long as I can remember, I have lived among books, in the worlds they allow me to recreate when I read. Reading is my first passion. But I had to reach thirty-five years of age to even dare to think about the possibility of writing. I abandoned the idea and returned to it on multiple occasions, until in 2017 I had the opportunity to take the first serious step, when I began virtual classes in Marcelo di Marco’s Creative Writing Workshop (Argentina) under his daughter direction, Marina di Marco. From that date until today, progress has been slow but significant for my personal goals: a published book of poems, two novels (one recently published and one in the process of being published), a book of short stories in development, and several short stories published in digital media. I dream with the day I would be able to dedicate to writing full-time. Despite all the challenges of being an immigrant in the United States (I´ve been a resident for two years now) I work every day to add another brick to this project that is my life as a writer and still keep growing in my full time job and taking care of my family.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My main challenge has been overcoming my own internal discourse of defeat. That voice that kept telling me that I was (and I am) too old to pursue a career as a writer (I was 50 when I published my first book) or that my stories wouldn’t interest anyone. The second obstacle is common, I think, to most of the beginning writers: how to stand out in an oversaturated market of books where the reader´s universe is limited. It’s no easy task even with great tool of autopublishing that has its own challenges.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m proud of what I achieved in my full time job here in the United States. I started as a Leasing Agent for an apartment community and I was recently promoted to Assistant Manager. Back home (the Dominican Republic), I was a lawyer, and as an immigrant, I had to start from scratch, forging a path in something new for me: a different language, lifestyle, and culture. I had to help my children succeed in their studies as well, all without abandoning my dream of creating stories. The novel I recently published (June) I wrote it through out the last year while navigating this difficult time of adjusting to a new country and a new life. And sometimes, only writing has help me to endure. That and my husband and my family. If I´m proud of what I´ve achieved in my job, I´m a lot more more proud of the novel I created during challenging times and I´m forced to recognized myself how my writing is becoming more mature and polished.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I admit I’m not a risk-taker, and I often tend to shy away from taking a step if I’m not sure where I’m going. However, on the other hand, I’ve always been clear that those who don’t take risks neither win nor lose. When it comes to taking risks, I struggle a lot at first, but when I finally make a decision, I try to make peace from the start with any future me who might have to deal with a bad outcome. I’ll feel reassured knowing I’ve thoroughly analyzed the risk before making a decision. It helps me a lot to think: What’s the worst that could happen if…? It seems easy now, when I look back, having decided to start a career as a writer, but at the time, it involved a lot of internal debate. It’s something that people often mock about: the eternal writer who never publishes anything. For everything you want to undertake, you have to fight against some countercurrent.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://berenicebnavarro.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berenicebnavarro/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berenicenavarro.autora
- Twitter: https://x.com/BereBNavarro
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/-/es/stores/author/B0F9CLQK3J
