Who is Ana Simons? – Tell us a little about yourself.

Ana is the mother of the most awesome twins in the world (Do I sound biased saying this?) The girl keeps claiming she’s older than he is, the boy says he just let her go first, because he’s a gentleman and someone had to hold the door open. They’re turning 13 this month and I’ve the feeling time few by.

Ana is also married to a guy who has more faith in her writing skills than she has. They’ve known each other since they were 12, certainly because her best friend had huge a crush on him, on the coolest hockey player in the 7^th grade. But they only started dating many, many years after that.

She lives in southern Europe, in a quiet and friendly town, blessed with a lot of sun, sandy beaches and the bluest ocean. She loves football/soccer. She suffers a lot when her national team plays and goes wild when her kid throws a ball into the net.

Ana studied English and German Studies at the university where she now works as a teacher.

What draws you to writing in ChickLit/Romance?

Yes, I do tend to gravitate to this genre, but only to books with some depth, with some truth about the way we’re living our lives. That means I have a clear preference for more realistic settings and everyday characters with whom I can relate. I like when I can see parts of myself in the fictional lives of the characters, when I can observe their behaviour in certain situations, how they interact with each other within the several social groups they belong to, how they respond to societal norms or trends… I particularly enjoy when there’s a pinch of irony mixed with humour as a strategy to portray the society we’re living in. And a dash of romance, of course, always makes it so much more fun. Just like in real life.

The Iceberg Theory is an emotional rollercoaster. As a reader, you ride the highs and lows with the characters. What inspired you to write The Iceberg Theory?

Thank you, I’m glad I was able to make you feel that way, to have you involved and feeling the emotions of the characters.

Well, I was inspired by some real life events I either experienced or observed, by stories I’ve heard, by ideas and concepts that make me wonder or intrigue me. Then I added a completely fictional love story I would fancy reading myself to the mix and weaved it all together.

Is there a message in The Iceberg Theory that you want readers to grasp?

This theory has been used in different fields, namely in psychology by Freud, anthropology and culture studies by Edward T. Hall, even in literature by Hemingway. Here, it suggests that our perceptions rarely correspond to the whole truth, because it’s part of our human nature to hide much more than we allow the others to see. The iceberg analogy, the fact that there’s much more underneath the surface than we actually observe floating on the ocean, underlies the love story between the two main characters, who actually want to go down there and know the other at deeper levels. And it can also be applied the story itself, because readers are not reading what they think they’re reading; the true meaning of it all is hidden in the last chapters of the book…

The Iceberg Theory is a Wattpad Featured story. Would you say that learning it was going to be featured was your most memorable moment on Wattpad? If not, what has been?

It was indeed one of the most memorable moments. It felt as if someone was finally validating my work. And, of course, the level of exposition it gets allows it to have a wider reach and a higher number of readers these days.

But there’s always a sort of bitter-sweet taste associated with it too. It won’t ever reach those amazing numbers some authors get, and I guess I won’t ever know if it’s because it’s not good enough or if it’s because it’s meant for a more adult audience who, according to my perception, are not the largest slice in Wattpad’s demography pie chart…

Other memorable moments happened within the LOL+35 group. There was this day I was struggling so hard to write my very first sort of steamy scene, that I asked the gals how they had dealt with it. Everyone cheered me up, some letting me know that they hadn’t done it yet either and that, sure, they would feel uncomfortable too; others gave me some helpful advice, and someone reminded me that I should definitely avoid what is often done in other books: things that aren’t anatomically possible! That cracked us all up and when in the afternoon I announced that it was done, glasses were raised. It felt everyone was pulling for me. Awesome.

Do you have any strange writing habits (like having to wear a particular outfit when writing or circling your desk three times before sitting down to write)?

No… though I have the feeling that things flow better when I manage to start writing right in the morning, still with my pyjamas on…LOL

What advice do you have for other aspiring authors?

Read, read and then read again. There’s no other way. And if you’re not a native speaker like myself, make sure you have learnt all grammar rules, and keep studying all those idioms, idiomatic structures and phrasal verbs that sure can drive us all crazy…

What secret talents do you have?

None in particular… Well, I’m fluent in four different languages. Does that count?

What are your future plans for The Iceberg Theory? Should we expect to see it in a bookstore in the foreseeable future?

Yes, I’m still thinking about that possibility. As soon as I finish my second book, I will decide how I will do it.

And, final question. Because it’s February and the month of ‘Love’, would you say you’ve been lucky in love?

Of course I have, I’ve got a great family. We’re all loud and crazy, down-to-earth and grounded people who really appreciate each other. And we’re all visiting Paris next month! What more could a girl want? J