Grammar Girl: What’s your favorite word and why?
Juan Gomez-Jurado: In English language it’s “daffodil.” I’m not even a great fan of flowers, but you need to appreciate how that word rolls out of your tongue.
GG: What’s a word you dislike (either because it’s overused or misused) and why?
JGJ: “Hate.” It’s never properly used. And it’s arguably the ugliest feeling that a human being can feel.
GG: What word will you always misspell?
JGJ: “Mystery.” I know, I know. It’s kind of the most important word for me, but in Spanish, it’s “Misterio,” so it’s kind of a false friend for me.
GG: What word (or semblance of a word) would you like to see added to the dictionary? Why?
JGJ: English is not my mother tongue, so it’s kinda difficult for me to speak properly. But let me tell you something: as a Spaniard I really admire the flexibility of the English language.
GG: Any grammar pet peeves we should know about?
JGJ: Being English is my second language, I’m sure that I murder it every time that I use it, so I’ll keep my mouth shut.
GG: [For fiction authors] To what extent does grammar play a role in character development and voice?
JGJ: It’s a big, big one. I use it extensively, as how characters sounds it’s paramount to me. I must praise Nick Caistor, the translator of Red Queen, for such an amazing job in that area. That was a tough one, really. In the novel there are up to SIX different narrator voices, all of them sharing the role of omniscient narrator. And Nick made it look effortless, fun, and a cover-to-cover read at neck breaking pace.
GG: Do you have a favorite quote or passage from an author you’d like to share?
JGJ: “Neighbours bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbour. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives,” from “To Kill a Mockingbird.” This is an example of masterful writing. Take a close look at how Lee drops a bomb in the last two words. To top that is near to impossible.
GG: What grammar, wording, or punctuation problem did you struggle with this week?
JGJ: “Impossible.” I just wrote it wrong in the previous paragraph. Thank god for the auto corrector.
Be sure to can pick up your copy of Red Queen on Amazon, Bookshop or wherever fine books are sold.