Christina Escamilla Publishing is a two-fold website. First and foremost, the primary goal is to help me personally connect with other writers and readers by providing a plethora of engaging content and interactive fun. Here, you’ll find everything from book reviews (which you can also vote on yourself) to advice and writing tips on a variety of topics.
Second, the site also allows me to offer up my books and stories for you to enjoy! As much as I enjoy writing, I live for the moment where my worlds and characters get to live on through reader imagination. I’m a pretty eclectic writer so I hope you find something that peaks your interest!
1.
What
inspired the idea for THE DAY THE WORDS WENT AWAY?
A few years ago I entered my first Nanowrimo
contest. It’s basically a challenge to
write a 50k word novel in month. I sat
down at my computer, completely eager to come up with something amazing…and
then I couldn’t decide what to write. So
instead of writing an actual story down I simply wrote out my thoughts, which
became the opening to the tDtWWA. Last
year, after releasing my first book, 64
Deaths, I knew I wanted my next novel to center on the concept of original
ideas and writing tropes, but in a fun and humorous way. I immediately thought back to that running stream
of consciousness and how it felt to try to come up with something without
making traction – so it all just escalated from there.
2.
What
was your writing process like?
When I get a good idea for a novel,
which usually comes by connecting a bunch of random ideas together, the first
thing I do is start to map out what I have.
I flesh out characters, begin to come up with key scenes, figure out
locations, etc. Then, once I have a
collection of notes, I draw up a synopsis and make a basic shell for the story,
usually chapter by chapter. Then I sit
down and begin to write the first draft. From there on out, I let the story
take me where it wants to go and after I’m done I edit, edit, edit, and edit
some more until I hand it off.
3.
How
did you come up with the character of Peter?
Since the original story was just a
collection of my thoughts, it was really easy to kind of throw in a lot of
things that I liked, such as a lot of love for specific TV shows, books,
movies, and other pop culture stuff.
However, I knew I wanted the story to have a male lead that is not your
traditional protagonist. To that extent,
I wanted him to be kind of awkward, socially inept, eternally optimistic, and
be sometimes unsure of himself. So I
tried to merge all of these aspects to make a sweet guy that means well, but
doesn’t always meet his mark.
4.
Why
did you write this story from a male point of view?
I wanted to use a male for two
reasons: I thought it would be challenging to look at the world from a male
point of view, and still have it be really realistic, and I wanted to use your
typical book protagonist and make it completely the opposite of what is generally
expected. I had a lot of fun with it,
and hopefully I did Peter’s character justice!
5.
Was
there a reason you incorporated different genres into one book?
Since this book was not only a way to
simply allow people a good laugh, but also a commentary on the writing process
in general, I thought it would be a good idea to play around with different genres. I wanted to make the book a Hodgepodge of the
most popular concepts and common stereotypes to both poke fun at them, but also
use them to help showcase how you can use these ideas and make them very much
your own without worrying about whether or not your idea is “original” enough.
6.
Was
there a hidden message for writers? If so, what?
Absolutely! At the heart of the book is the bare bones
reason that we write – because it keeps us alive. It allows us to share how we see the world
with our audience. I think a lot of
writers, especially new writers, make the mistake of trying to meet some kind
of technical standard. They think that
they have to have that one spark of inspiration, or if they do x, y, and z in a
specific order then they will have the perfect manuscript. I’d like the book to show that writing is not
about all that technical stuff, but it’s about the actual doing. To get a good idea you don’t need to have a
set a rules – you just need to go out and live.
The ideas will happen by default.
7.
What
do you hope readers will gain from this book?
First and foremost, I hope that
people find it funny and get a really good laugh out of it. Even if that’s all that happens! But, I’d also love for people to get a
general appreciation for life, and living and how the best inspiration comes
from going on crazy adventures with the people you love the most.
8.
Do
you feel your story is an inspiration to Latinos?
I believe it is, and that is definitely
my hope! As a Latina, I think it’s
really important that we have a sense of community that also extends into the larger
world. Our cultures and customs should
be treasured and also shared, whether that is in the sense of the broader
spectrum or in a personal facet. For
instance, I wanted to include a feisty Latina woman who is roughly modeled
after my sister and I also wanted to include a lot of the language. Not just Spanish, but also a lot of the playful
back and forth disses that are harmless and done in jest, but for someone like
Peter it’s seen as threatening because he doesn’t understand it. I really wanted to use that approach because
it puts a mirror to the idea of the “us versus them” mentality that some folk
have when faced with any culture not their own.
At the same time I liked the idea that Latinos would “get” some of the
jokes and scenes, so I hope that the book is received well in that sense.
9.
What
books do you like to read?
I read just about everything! I write in a variety of different genres and
that love of experimentation and exploration definitely factors into my reading
choices. You can find everything from
romance to horror to children’s books and everything in between!
10. Are you
working on any other stories?
Yep!
I have two projects going on right now.
First is the sequel to The Day the
Words Went Away, which will feature more crazy shenanigans, but will take
place across much of Europe. In
addition, I am accepting submissions for my “Welcome to the Future” anthology. The open call ends
in September 15th and the book will be published around November.
For
more information, log onto http://www.christinaescamilla.com
UP
NEXT: A review for The Day the Words Went
Away
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