This is an interview we’ve been waiting actual years to do! Lou getting a book deal was always inevitable, so we’re super happy we can help you guys get to know her a little bit better! And hopefully get you excited about her upcoming debut! We chatted about Lou’s love of comics, and how bringing to life fully fleshed out characters can bring you one step closer to writing a great novel.
You can, of course, already add Don’t Fear the Reaper on Goodreads in anticipation. And, as ever, you can follow her on twitter too!
Reads Rainbow: Okay, I have my hot cocoa, hopefully you have a hot beverage of choice, too. Let’s get started! Have you always known you wanted to be a writer? How old were you when you wrote your first story?
Louangie Bou-Montes: I definitely have always known that I love writing, but I don’t think I had like a concrete sense of wanting to Be A Writer until somewhat recently. The first time I wrote a story depends on your definition of a story, but my mom would tell you it was when I was in kindergarten when I wrote a little comic book about my sister and I (which she still has haha). Actually settling down to write like something “long form,” I think I was probably 11.
Oh, so you started out with comic books! That’s interesting, given your current projects! Love to see that enjoyment of a media to stay with you.
Definitely long term comic book fan hahahaha.
Personally the first things I remember reading were comic books my cousin used to share with me. So I get that!
I think my first “memorable” reads were Sesame Street books, I was grabbing thing from my older siblings to read for sure
So you always loved wholesome stories. It shows in your writing.
Yes definitely. Actually my parents have no idea when I learned to read because they thought I was memorizing books until they gave me a new one and I read it
So we know what propelled you into the world of literature. So now, what about your favourite genres to read and write? Are there any genres or tropes you wouldn’t write?
To read, I think it varies a lot and depends on where I’m at. Sometimes I think I get burnt out on a certain genre and have to find something super different just to kind of change it up if that makes sense. So, right now, I’m exploring adult horror, but a couple months ago I was reading romance a lot.
That pretty much sums up my reading habits, too, to be honest. Definitely more of a mood reader.
Yessss mood reader is exactly how I’d put it. For writing, I tend toward contemporary SFF and magical realism sort of. I like to have at least a touch of magic or speculative in my worlds, and I think I’d have a hard time writing like pure contemporary or anything with no fantastical element at all. But I’m not opposed to it if the mood struck.
Do you think the magical elements make it easier to create certain situations, to describe emotions that might otherwise stay dormant? By which I mean, would you say you gravitate towards that for a specific reason?
I think I gravitate towards it in the first place just because it’s fun and was always my favorite kind of thing to read as a kid. I think secondly, I spent a lot of time working with students of color and, at least at that time, watching them read books that either didn’t represent them at all or like were heavy with the trauma of being BIPOC (and/or) being a central piece of the narrative and I really wanted to write stuff where they could see kids like them where their biggest worry was something like necromancy throughout the main narrative—like escapism, essentially. But I do think you can play a lot with fantasy elements to illustrate emotions that can be hard to face directly.
We could definitely use more books like that, especially when white kids has always had tons of just cheerful, fun books to choose from.
Exactly that. So many books where white kids get to just focus on the wonder and the magic and all that without being reminded of the difficult things of their own existence. And that just by being them, they’re dealt this hand from birth.
And even in contemporary stories, your biggest worry as a white kid was that you dyed your hair green or that your favourite toy broke. You essentially were allowed to stay a child for longer.
Yes, exactly. You get all these stories about all the different facets of growing up with white MCs. But publishing really wants to push just the one narrative for marginalized kids
Oh, that’s a whole other can of worms… Let’s circle back to your writing, but from a technical point of view. 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?
Hahaha fair enough. I definitely picture an actual apple, I was super shocked when I heard some people can’t!! I do think it impacts my writing process—but I try not to get hung up on details in the initial drafting process so it’s more helpful for going through and filling it out after the rough draft is done.
I was shocked, too, I always assumed that when we say we “imagine” something, we mean exactly that: seeing something in our minds!
Me too!!
Interestingly, most of the writers we’ve talked with so far, are also able to see things in their minds. You mentioned that the first draft is usually a rough one, and you add details later on. So then, when you’re building your world, what do you focus on? How do you try to make it come to life?
I try to focus on character first and voice/vibe. I feel like maybe it’s a little bit back-asswards, but as a reader character and voice are super important to me. I can read just about anything with compelling characters and a killer voice, but I can’t get through something without those even if it nails everything else.
Again, I absolutely understand! I’m a big fan of character driven novels, and with the right set of characters, I can read just about anything.
Same with TV tbh
Oh, yeah! At the end of the day, stories are about people (well, mostly), so why would I ever want to consume media about people I don’t find interesting, or even properly fleshed out?
Exactly, I’d rather enjoy a meandering story about well crafted people than the opposite
Now we know which skills you appreciate in writers. My next question is: if you wanted to learn about craft, which three authors would you suggest reading?
That’s such a good question and I’m answering off the top of my head so I hope this satisfies even if it’s kind of basic hahaha. I would say Jorge Luis Borges, Neil Gaiman, and Madeline Miller have all been writers I turn to when I’m trying to “study” what I like
Those are interesting choices! I’m especially intriguided by you naming Borges among them. Makes sense in a weird way.
Borges came recommended to me by my senior year English teacher after I really loved the unit we did on The House of the Spirits by Allende. And I LOVE Borges, I just think he has the most amazing touch when it comes to weaving in the fantasical into the mundane. Which obviously is what magical realism is all about hahaha. But in my opinion, he’s the best.
Favourite of his titles?
My favorite of his short stories (which is really most of what I take in of his work) is The Aleph, but I also own an old copy of his Bestiary that I love.
One last serious question: What projects are you currently working on? Can you share any details yet?
I’ve got a couple things I’m trying to polish up, all in the realm of SFF. In particular, I’ve got one that involves a ghost from the 90s trying to get help crossing over from 2020s teens and a kind of What We Do in the Shadows inspired story set in the 70s.
I am already in love with those concepts.
Good!! Me too!!!
But before I get too excited, let’s talk about Don’t Fear the Reaper! Three images that capture the aesthetic of it?
Oh man okay, hang on I have an old ass Pinterest board I have to find.
Love a good Pinterest board.
There 🤪
Spot on hahaha. How about three songs you would put in the soundtrack?
Okay I’m the worst at this because I suck at making playlists BUT obviously Don’t Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult, one…Maroon by Taylor Swift, aaaaaand Help! by The Beatles
Solid choices, still. Funnily enough, one of our questions feels kind of on the nose, when it comes to your book. Which of your characters would you most want to fight a zombie apocalypse with?
Hahaha to be honest, it would definitely be Christian (the love interest). He has insider knowledge plus he’s probably the most genre-savvy.
And what would be your dream project? However big?
I think I have many dream projects but the one I reference most frequently is writing on a Superboy (Kon-el) run.
OF COURSE.
I know ksskksks very obvious hahaha.
I feel silly for even asking. You’re stuck on a desert island and you’re allowed only three (LGBT) books. What are you taking?
Oh shit okay.
I know, I saved the hardest for last.
Ace of Spades by my eternal fav Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and Crush by Richard Siken.
Okay, we can be stuck together.
Yesss, perfect! I swear I’m not sucking up by choosing Crush. It’s just very rereadable, as you well know.
I believe in you having superior taste! I have, unfortunately, just reread it like last week for probably a 30th time or something…
I’m struggling to believe it’s only 30. But I feel that.
Thank you. And that brings me to my last question. You can collaborate on anything with anyone in the LGBT community: who would it be and why?
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé!! She’s one of my favorite people in general, I love her writing, I love her ideas, and I’m absolutely certain anything she and I made together would be darkly funny and gay in all the best ways.
Oh, that would be very cool to witness! I hope you two do get to collaborate!
It would be awesome 🙂
Fingers crossed! And, well. Thank you so much for chatting with me! I hope it was as fun for you as it was for me!
It was super fun!!! Thanks so much for doing this with me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Louangie Bou-Montes was born in Northampton, Massachusetts and grew up flitting back and forth between rural Western Mass and el campo in Guayama, PR, surrounded by countless cousins in both locations. Thanks to those cousins, she was raised on a healthy diet of everything from The Addams Family to Silent Hill to Pet Sematary, resulting in a love of telling stories about Puerto Rican kids with morbid hobbies and senses of humor.
After graduating with a BA in English from UMass Amherst, she spent nearly a decade working as a high school educator, mostly focused in Special Education, Trauma-Informed teaching, and ELL. Currently, she works as an Anti-Oppression Consultant.
On any given day, you can find Louangie at home playing video games or watching cooking shows and horror movies with her spouse.
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