She has lost count of the number of novels she has published, “there will be about 50 or 52”, tries to remember Megan Maxwell, the undisputed queen of the romantic novel in Spain. His figures are overwhelming: ten million readers and five million books sold. The last one goes on sale today, ¿Y a ti qué te pica? ). And even if it seems like a lie, and after so many love stories narrated, for the first time it centers part of the idyll that its protagonists live in two of the most romantic cities in the world: Venice and Verona. And he has traveled there with his daughter, fellow writer Sandra Miró, and his editor, Esther Escoriza, to present the novel and make one of his dreams come true: to get to know the city of canals and travel by gondola, like, obviously, the characters in the novel do.
Making dreams come true is in the DNA of this Madrid born in Nuremberg as María del Carmen Rodríguez del Álamo Lázaro, although she will hardly turn around when she hears that name. She was called Nena as a child and when she started publishing books she chose Megan, a name she liked, along with Maxwell, as a tribute to one of her favorite singers. His parents lived a love story worthy of a romantic novel, although with a not very happy ending, and that would end up inspiring one of his books Hola, ¿Te acuerdas de mí? It could be summed up like this: a Spanish girl meets an American soldier in Germany, they fall in love and live a night of passion before he embarks on a mission. As a result Megan was born and the soldier disappeared shortly after without a trace. Without a paternal presence, she was raised in a matriarchy that marked her literature: “At home we were all women and I like to convey in my novels the message that they can”.
She is a tireless worker. He takes care of his social networks personally and his working day usually lasts around 12 hours. So much work allows him to publish three novels a year, which he now plans to reduce to two. “I want to have more time for myself and not end up being the richest woman in the cemetery,” she comments, amused.
His literary universe revolves especially around great sagas, such as the medieval Las Guerreras Maxwell, the contemporary ¿Y a ti …? or the erotic Ask me what you want. They all have the same common denominator: to show empowered women. “My romanticism is like that of any other person, with the difference that the woman is the one who decides”.
For her “it is a priority that women learn to love each other, you don’t need to have a man by your side”. She writes about women so strong that for years her novels were rejected. “They told me they had too much character.” Until after 12 years of perseverance, the first publication and success arrived. “I have always believed in myself.” At the request of his publisher, the erotic saga arrived. “I chose to reflect a different sex than what we’ve been taught and I leaned towards trios and groups,” he explains. “Everyone thinks I spend my day having orgies,” he laughs.
Her followers are the warriors and Megan has the shield of the saga tattooed on her right arm. “It’s like my amulet and you don’t know how many women have it tattooed, because they say it gives them strength.” In addition, it also carries the phrase: “A wish changes nothing, but a decision changes everything”, which was tattooed when he got divorced, “because until you make the decision things don’t change”. On the left arm it reads: “The good, the bad and the best”, which are also inscribed on the skin by his editor, Esther Escoriza, and her daughter Sandra, who, as a writer of youth novels, deals with content claims, from feminism to sexual diversity. “I will have done something right so that my daughter continues to fight for this”, she says proudly.
Even if he doesn’t have it tattooed, he usually says: “Who doesn’t dream, doesn’t live”, and now another one of his dreams is about to come true. Atresplayer prepares a series based on the novels ¿A qué estás esperando? and Tampoco pido tanto, and the erotic saga Ask me what you want will come to the cinema with Warner Bros Pictures España and Versus Entertainment. In both cases, he has participated in the scripts. “I’m very excited, but I’m also worried to see the result of the adaptations”, he admits.
This warrior has many more dreams left to fulfill, such as one day winning one of the most relevant international awards for romantic novels, such as the RITA. “It would be a bombshell, because no Spanish woman has achieved it yet”, he is excited. But she does not hesitate to prioritize what actually has, for her, more importance in this life, “being happy above all else”.
