it's been a long time coming
why hello, beloved newsletter subscribers!
It's been a while, hasn’t it? A few things have happened since I last popped into your inbox. Namely, I had another child. (!!) He was born in December and I’ve only just begun to resurface from maternity leave and acute sleep deprivation. Between mid-March and, uh, maybe a week ago, I simply did not sleep more than 2.5-3 hours in a row. Really truly. Let that sink in. The breaking point was Mother’s Day weekend, when my son was waking me every 25-90 minutes. It was grim.
But we are through it! Mostly! And I am capable of stringing together coherent thoughts once again! (Mostly!)
The year is hurtling past. Let’s arrest its flight for just one moment and look over our shoulders, panting, at what the hell just happened: in the midst of gestures broadly at the empire crumbling around our ears, I have a five-month-old who, around this time last year, I wasn’t sure would exist. I (more or less) recovered from an emergency c-section. I’ve wrapped up a punishing, 16-month revision for a yet-to-be-announced project. I had a so-dear-to-my-heart-I-could-cry project approved as my next novel for Adults. My mind is whirring with short story ideas. Hollywood continues to peddle heartbreak and hope. Summer teases Seattle with 70-degree days, and suddenly, a new season is here. The gears shift. The release of The Possession of Alba Díaz is only two and a half months away.
(Psst. You’ve pre-ordered it, right?)
At 7pm on August 19, the Seattle Public Library, the Mexican Consulate of Seattle, and I will be celebrating the release of The Possession of Alba Díaz with an event at the Main Branch of the Seattle Public Library. I will be joined in conversation by Sadie Hartmann, whose Feral and Hysterical: Mother Horror’s Ultimate Reading Guide to Dark and Disturbing Fiction by Women comes out that same day.
I would absolutely love it if you could join us. More info as the date draws closer!
In late July, I will be joining the brilliant Wendy N. Wagner to celebrate the release of Girl in the Creek at Elliott Bay Books here in Seattle. The details are still getting ironed out, but I will get them to you ASAP.
This October, I will also be attending the South Texas Book Festival in McAllen, TX. More info TK later this summer!
And a final announcement: after many false starts (and bafflingly little communication), OwlCrate has released Monsters in Masquerade, a horror/fantasy/romance anthology which contains my short story “Eva and the Devil.” I’m very proud of this story, and would be honored if you decided to pick up the anthology. The edition is a stunning work of art. I love her.
Reading
I have been in the deepest darkest fiction reading slump of my adult life these days. (See aforementioned acute sleep deprivation.) In lieu of this, I have been stuffing my head with fanfiction (no, I won’t tell you what, my ao3 is between me and god) and nonfiction on the craft of writing. Notably, I hunted down David Gauss’s Alone With All That Could Happen for its essay “From Long Shots to X-Rays: Distance and Point of View” and it’s nothing short of revolutionary. It's changing everything I thought I knew about point of view and how I attack it in revisions.
I also reread Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo via its audiobook, masterfully narrated by Thom Rivera. I've been thinking a lot about acting and narration, as I just picked the narrators for The Possession of Alba Díaz (yes, plural!), and Rivera breathes such vitality into this haunting ghost story.
Listening
I’ve been delving into new project playlists. Notable on-loop albums include:
DeBí TiRAR MáS FOtoS, Bad Bunny, because of COURSE.
Au, Paloma Morphy
¿Quién+Como Yo?, Christian Nodal
Lunático, Gotan Project
Cancionera, Natalia Lafourcade
If you like any of this stuff, can I recommend the Alt.Latino podcast from NPR Music? They have exquisite taste. They never fail me when I need an injection of something fresh. (Also, it’s a vital time to support public radio.)
Watching
Muderbot on AppleTV+: …it’s ok? Visually very pretty and kind of funny? More thoughts when I’ve seen more.
Survivor: lmao, I know, so cringe. My husband and his family peer pressured me into watching when I had literally never seen it before and… I am now obsessed.
Sinners: I. FINALLY. SAW. SINNERS. IT IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE. The atmosphere, the cinematography, the colors, the sound design, the costuming, the pacing! The worldbuilding! The balance of camp and sincerity! I’m reeling. Ngl, it made me ache for an adaptation of Vampires of El Norte to one day find its way onto screens. Please send good vibes its way--we keep dancing with Hollywood and getting our toes stepped on, but I hope we can find our footing soon.
Time to get back to daydreaming and dozing (I’ve earned it, y’all) in the buttery Friday afternoon sunshine.
You’ll hear from me soon.
love,
Isabel xxxx