My first book out in translation

I’m thrilled to see Life Lessons hit the shelves in the Italian translation as Lezioni Di Vita, and delighted to have Google-translated my way through several very complimentary reviews in Italian. Thanks to Triskell Edizioni for the opportunity, and to Cristina Bruni for what is clearly a skillful translation.

I’ve had offers over the last six years to do translations of my work into other languages. For me, it’s always been an interesting mix of excitement and fear, and before now one that tipped too far into the possessiveness and anxiety to say yes.

My words are my playthings and my tools, chosen with care to create the effects I want from them. Chosen, in particular, to convey emotions and the complexity of human characters. When I succeed, or sometimes fail, I do so on the merits of each of those choices. Writing books where the romance is front and center (as opposed to books that stand or fall primarily on their plot) is to me a deeper risk in translation. I’m not as worried about how the mystery progression is described, or how the sex is conveyed, as the subtleties between Mac being afraid, nervous, apprehensive, reluctant, guarded, in his coming out. The little shifts of meaning that happen with word choice are part of what make a character sympathetic or not, what lend complexity or simplicity. And in translation, I will never know if that meaning has shifted.

But at some point, I’ve started finding confidence in my stories, to know they can survive a few odd word choices of my own, and therefore of someone else’s. Or perhaps I’ve come to trust that someone who loves the genre will render my guys in recognizable ways. And to realize that my writing never does stand or fall on one book, or one version of one book, or even several. It helps that Cristina Bruni had read my guys for fun, before becoming their translator. Having an audio book out has also shown me that someone’s interpretation of my work may not be identical to mine in every emphasis and detail, and yet can be a wonderful version. (Thanks, Kaleo Griffith.)

So I waited for this release with more excitement than worry, and I’m really thrilled it’s out. I’m looking forward to the release of the rest of the series. And potentially other books in other languages to come. I do love the thought that people who have not (and would never) read the originals will meet Mac and Tony, and watch their little family grow.

Lezioni di vita can be found on Triskell Edizioni Rainbow here : http://www.triskellrainbow.it/prodotto/lezioni-vita-kaje-harper/