So this is a blog thread going around where different writers update on what we’re working on and then pass it along. I was tagged by Kiini Ibura Salaam who got it from Ibi Zoboi, both amazing writers I’m proud to be in a collective with.
What is the working title of your next book?
The Book Of Lost Saints
My friend Sam The Mad Astrologer and I were taking a walk, I was harrumphing about maybe writing something directly about Cuba instead of just symbolically about it, he said what about ghosts from the Isle of Pines prison? My uncle was a political prisoner there, although this isn’t his story by any means. Something clicked when he said that. I got quiet, went home and started plotting. Growing up hearing stories about the mostly forgotten struggles in the immediate aftermath of the Cuban Revolution has left me fascinated by the crossroads of myth, family memories and history. This book sits right in those crossroads, smoking a cigar.
Literary Fiction
What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?
The spirit of a disappeared Cuban political dissident tries to get her DJ nephew to uncover the truth about what happened to her.
Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m currently repped by Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary.
How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I’ve been writing for a year and I’m about 2/3 through it. Plan to finish in the next few months and have the second draft done by December.
What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I crafted the hospital scenes from my experience working as a 911 paramedic these past nine years in NYC. I crafted the club scenes from my experience…going to clubs…these past nine years in NYC. There’s also several Santeros (also crafted from experience), a parallel storyline dealing with the Cuban Revolution, an old corrupt politico and a whoooole bunch of sex (also craft…nevermind).
Coming up: posts from three super amazing writers- my sister Malka Older, my mentee Sorahya Moore and my friend S. Nicole Brown…
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