1. What inspired you to write STOCKHOLM
DIARIES, CAROLINE? My husband is Swedish, and we have lived in Sweden
twice. Both times, I met women from around the world with interesting, unique
stories about meeting Swedish men and moving to Sweden. These stories involved
chance meetings, uncertain risks and sacrifice, all in the name of love. The
whole Stockholm Diaries series is a kind of tribute to all these stories.
2. What was the development process like?
I started this book with character ideas. In Caroline, I wanted someone who was
completely new to Sweden and in some ways completely out of place, but I also
wanted to create a character that was already intimately familiar with the
aspects of belonging or not belonging. This is where her father’s history comes
in: As an immigrant from Mexico, he struggled with the pull of duel loyalties,
and to some extent Caroline does, too. So when Caroline contemplates her friend
Veronica’s situation in Stockholm and then, in Book Two, considers the possibility
of moving there herself, I wanted her to understand the complexity of that
decision, both for her and for her family.
Niklas was a little more
straightforward. I'm (morbidly) intrigued by the idea that many professional
sports reward aggression, but the players are supposed to be able to shut that
part of them down off the ice/court/field. This can’t be easy, and I wanted to
explore how that might play out in an essentially good guy.
3. Did you relate to the main character, Caroline,
in any way? If so, what? There are many pieces of Caroline’s life that came
from my own experiences. I myself grew up in Michigan and studied at the
University of Michigan, and like Caroline, I had early tastes of the world
beyond the Great Lakes and wanted to explore it. Also like Caroline, I fell in
love with a Swedish man, and we have lived together in Sweden twice.
But I should probably also add
that Caroline’s life is certainly not my own!
4. Why did you choose Stockholm as the setting
for Caroline? Stockholm was my own home for three years, so this is a
tribute to a city I know and love. One fundamental idea behind my Stockholm Diaries series is to explore
romance and love with someone who comes from a different background—both the
appeals and the difficulties.
5. What was the hardest part about writing
this book? The hardest part for me was to stick closely enough to the
romance plot and not travel too far down the roads of other sub-plots. In the
end, I cut some of Caroline’s personal history from the story because it didn’t
add to the momentum of the plot. Sometimes it’s difficult for me to stick
within the boundaries of a romance plot, but it’s the genre that connects with
the most readers.
6. What do you hope readers will gain from your
book? The book is romance fiction, so first and foremost I hope that
readers immerse themselves in Caroline’s world and enjoy the journey. But I do
believe there is a place in genre fiction for ideas. At the recent Romance
Writers of American national conference, author Piper Huguley was quoted as
saying, “Fiction helps see the humanity in others, regardless of culture or
sexual orientation.” This is where I hope to make my mark, however small. I
hope audiences of all different backgrounds will see my Latina character as
interesting and relatable, as our anchor of familiar in a foreign world. In
this small way, I think genre fiction has a place in influencing the way we
think of “us” in the United States.
7.
What
do you like best and what do you like least about being a writer? Both the
best and the worst thing about begin a writer is taking a jumble of ideas and turning
them into a coherent story! Taking kernels of characters and plots and
following them through to a finished product is a long project full of
unexpected turns, much like juggling a dozen or so balls at the same time. The
moments of realizations, the moments where the process moves along smoothly or
the dialogue comes together in one, tight bundle—those are the best moments of
being a writer. But for me, the worst part is the flip side of that same
process, the unsuccessful struggle to figure out what isn’t working and how to
fix it.
8. Who are some of your favorite authors?
Hmm… where do I start? George Orwell’s 1984
is a masterpiece I can read again and again, as is Joseph Heller’s Catch-22. I love Kurt Vonnegut, Donna
Tartt, Thomas Pynchon… I guess you could say I'm a typical U.S. English major
in my tastes! My favorite romance is probably Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, a book I’ve
read at least ten times. The book explores romance and love without falling
into cliché—a rarity!
9. If your book would be turned into a movie,
who would you imagine playing the part of the main character? (Actor can be
ANYONE, living or dead.) I imagine Caroline as sexy but understated, quiet
and introspective. As is typical in romance, the couple is on the cover of my
book, so it’s a little hard to think outside that! But if I were to cast
someone, I think I’d pick Odette Annable, who seems to have the right demeanor,
though she’s played a wide range of characters.
10. Are you working on anything right now?
Always! I'm usually working on at least two projects in various states. Right
now, I'm making the last changes in short story #1 of 4 in the Stockholm Diaries, Alice series. It’s
out on submission for an anthology, but if it’s not accepted there, I’ll
release it myself later this summer on Kindle Unlimited. I'm also in the middle
of the first draft of a non-fiction book called The Reading Writer: An English Teacher’s Guide to Better Romance
Writing Through Reading. And, as if
that weren’t enough, I'm getting started on a short story that will fit between
the two Stockholm Diaries, Caroline stories: working title is “Niklas in
Italy.”
11. And, finally, what do you think is in store
for the future of Latino literature? I'm not sure I can speak about the
future of Latino literature, but I do think I can speak on the future of North
American literature, especially in the romance genre. I am not Latina and did
not not set out to write Latino literature per
se, but my starting point is based on experience: I visited my
then-boyfriend’s family in Puebla years ago. My book features two Latinas with
very different personalities and backgrounds. This is where I think North American
literature is headed: writing complex, nuanced characters who represent all
different experiences and backgrounds. My characters are the creative outcome
of the ideas I wanted to explore—Caroline is a relatable romance heroine first,
and her Mexican roots are one important part of her among many. I do believe
literature shapes our culture and the way we relate to each other. I think
North American literature is broadening the concept of “us,” and I hope to be a
part of that.
UP NEXT: A review of Stockholm Diaries, Caroline.
