Lesbians rejoice because, with purely coincidental and yet purely perfect timing, we have possibly the most exciting post we could have uploaded on Lesbian Visibility Day! Yes, that’s right, a chat with the author of the upcoming The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School! As massive proponents of, you know, using the word lesbian in YA literature, this book is high on our anticipated reads list. So it’s with great pleasure that we can post today’s interview with Sonora Reyes.
And, before you read, don’t forget to follow them on twitter!
Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
As a kid, I changed my mind a lot about what I wanted to do when I grew up. Being an author was definitely on my large list of potential careers, along with being a dancer, a slam poet, a veterinarian, and an astronaut. I didn’t decide for sure that being an author was what I really wanted until a few years ago!
I wrote my first story when I was around eight years old, and it was basically about eight-year-old me being Batman. It was lovely lol.
What are your favourite genres to read and write, and are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
My favorite genres to read are probably rom coms, fantasy, and paranormal books, though I will pretty much read anything if it’s got queer people of color at the forefront. I’ve written contemporary, romance, rom coms, high fantasy, and dystopian books in YA, adult, and MG, with planned projects in paranormal mystery, historical, contemporary fantasy, and sci-fi. I’m kind of all over the place, but the common thread with all my books will be a queer Mexican (or Mexican-coded if it’s fantasy) protagonist. Write what you know, amiright?
I used to say the genre I would never write in would be historical, but now I’ve got a queer and trans historical Chicane idea that I’m absolutely thrilled about, so never say never I guess!
When you close your eyes and imagine an apple, what do you see? An actual apple, a sketch of one, a blackness? Do you think that impacts your writing process?
Oh, I can see the apple, smell the apple, taste the apple, hear the satisfying crunch of that first bite. Surprisingly enough, though, description in my writing is almost always something I need to come back and add in the second draft because it doesn’t come very easily to me. It’s definitely something I’m working on and getting better at though!
When you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
If I’m writing contemporary, I make sure I have a specific place and time in mind. I always have to remember to keep the timeline crystal clear so the reader knows exactly where and when the events are happening. In speculative fiction, I tend to build my worlds very slowly over time, focusing on different things at different points in time. At first, I build the world around bigger ideas. What kind of magic system is it? How does spirituality work in this world? What is the mythology like? Then I focus on more sensory and descriptive things, like how do the people talk? What do they wear? What are their customs and traditions? I think the smaller details like these are actually what make the story feel like it comes to life for me.
What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’m currently working on the second book in my contract, which comes out May 2023! It’s a #MeToo revenge story with a bisexual autistic protagonist 😊
Three songs you would put in your book’s soundtrack?
Take Me to Church by Hozier, Sinners by Lauren Aquilina, and Sleepover by Hayley Kiyoko.
What would be your dream project?
I actually finished drafting what I’ve been considering my dream project for years in November! I won’t be able to share anything about that project for a while, but keep your eyes peeled! 👀
You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee, Fifteen Hundred Miles From the Sun by Jonny Garza Villa, and Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas!
You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
Well… I’m not saying there might be something in the works with a certain author cough Emery Lee cough cough, but I’m also not NOT saying that 👀👀
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in Arizona, Sonora Reyes is the author of the forthcoming contemporary young adult novel, THE LESBIANA’S GUIDE TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL. They write fiction full of queer and Latinx characters in a variety of genres, with current projects in both kidlit and adult categories. Sonora is also the creator and host of the Twitter chat #QPOCChat, a monthly community-building chat for queer writers of color. Sonora currently lives in Arizona in a multi-generational family home with a small pack of dogs who run the place. Outside of writing, Sonora loves dancing, singing karaoke, and playing with their baby nephew.
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