Marina Arrabal (Alcázar de San Juan, 1988) is a mental health nurse, studied Philosophy and works the night shift at a psychiatric center, where she also runs a workshop of creative writing. Her dual connection to literature and mental illness lies at the origin of Dulcenombre (Blackie Books), her debut novel, an unsettling tale set in the years when Spain began to close its large asylums. Straddling psychological terror, Gothic fiction, and reflections on spirituality, the work explores the boundaries between faith and madness, holiness and illness, through a young woman convinced she has been chosen by God.
But when and why did Marina Arrabal feel the call of literature? Which readings sparked her vocation? How has her professional experience influenced her understanding of writing? On the origins of her literary vocation, her initial encounters with books, and the path that has led her to become a novelist, the author discussed these questions with Álvaro Colomer in the interview cycle “Diálogos online” that the ACEC (Association of Writers of Catalonia / Associació Col·legial d’Escriptors de Catalunya) organizes with the support of CEDRO.