Antonella Yllana

I was born in Rio, a German Brazilian with "carioca" roots that flourished in Bahia. I started writing at the age of eight and never stopped. I traveled around the world, lived in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, USA, had many jobs. My first book was published in 1997. In 2002 "The Science of Passion" came out, a monologue in dialogue form that caught the attention of the bestselling Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. He asked to use excerpts from my book in his novel "Eleven Minutes", one of the most read of his career, which he paid with special thanks in the afterword. It was a sign for me to keep writing. I published eight books, have many more waiting to be born, am also a blogger and write weekly reflections, sometimes poems and songs, in addition to translating Tibetan Buddhist teachings. I ended up falling in love with Arraial d'Ajuda, in the south of Bahia, where I currently live with my husband, the painter-illustrator-poet-singer-artist Florencio - who I met twenty years ago met on a bridge in Paris - with my son Mahal, my mother Leda, the dogs Zoya, Giovanni, Gucci, Lucky and Gino, the cats Maria Antonieta and Matahari, little birds and monkeys that come to visit my garden daily. I love reading, meditating, contemplating, planting, painting, listening to music, dancing, playing capoeira, cooking, walking, traveling, daydreaming and swinging in a hammock. I absolutely love to play with my son Mahal, a sweet and kooky boy, who is now seven years old and has been a great inspiration since he was born.