Buenos Aires, March 19 (NA) – Mariano Cattaneo stated that his novel was born from the need to explore death from a perspective different from the usual within the genre, so he sought to move away from classic horror structures to focus on emotions. In an exclusive interview with the Argentine News Agency, the writer detailed that the story's focus moves away from traditional ghost stories and pointed out that narratives usually center on revenge or preceding events, but not on what the character feels in that state: “One never knows what it feels like there, in that lost limbo”. Along these lines, the author highlighted the influence of Asian cinema on his work and remarked that those productions approach horror through emotions: “The ghost is always very closely related to emotions”. The story also delves into the relationships between the characters, so Cattaneo explained that the story presents two different ways of facing the same conflict. He also described the relationship between the protagonists as complex and assured that the characters do not fit into simple categories: “They are neither good nor bad, they are gray”. Regarding the narrative construction, the film director stated that he sought to generate an emotional journey for the reader and explained that the novel invites the reader to empathize with a character before then modifying that perception. About the creative process, the author described that he avoids getting stuck at the beginning of the text and prioritizes the full development of the story: “I don’t believe much in the blank page”. The writer explained that he first builds a general sketch and then reviews the material with distance; that procedure allows him to find new dimensions in the characters and the plot. Regarding production times, Cattaneo stated that the final writing stage took several months and specified that the total process until publication can extend to almost a year: “Since the material was delivered, it has been a year in process until it is edited”. He also referred to his previous works and the thematic continuity between them, although the stories are independent, they share an emotional universe. Finally, the writer reaffirmed his interest in the genre and maintained that horror and thrillers allow him to explore deep feelings: “You can explore a lot of feelings beyond what fear is,” he concluded. What is the novel about “Don’t forget I’m dead” is a psychological thriller with a cinematic rhythm, great mastery of drama and horror, which features Fernando, a young man who returns from his vacation and finds a presence in his house. When Fernando returned to Santo Blas seeking answers after that fateful summer, he did not expect to return home with Zoe. The problem is that she died two years ago and, since then, she has been for the boy a constant reminder of an unconfessable secret, an infusion of guilt and pain that, day by day, transforms him into a shadow, a living dead man. When he reunites with an old friend, Javier, he suddenly believes he has found a way to get rid of the ghost. Perhaps Javier deserves Zoe, but that reunion will open a door to the past and reveal that sometimes what refuses to be forgotten makes you yearn for oblivion.
