Featuring contemporary Afro-Latinx characters, acclaimed author Lilliam Rivera blends a touch of magical realism into a timely story about cultural identity, overcoming trauma, and the power of first love.
We had the pleasure of chatting to author Lilliam Rivera about her new novel Never Look Back, book recommendations, writing, and more!
Hi, Lilliam! Tell us a bit about yourself!
Hi! I am a writer and children’s book author. I’ve written young adult books, middle grade, graphic novels, and personal essays. My latest young adult novel is Never Look Back, a retelling of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice set in New York with Afro-Latinx characters. I love this novel and I can’t wait to share it with readers.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I discovered my love for writing at a young age when my mother would take us to the local library. I loved reading and writing became my way of dealing with challenging events in my life. I was lucky in that my High School English teacher saw more than just shyness and insisted I join the school newspaper. Journalism was my first step into writing with the last five years spent writing fiction.
With the current state of the world, what are you both doing to cope with the changes we’ve had to make to our day-to-day?
It’s a whole lot! I have two daughters and both are doing virtual schooling. I’m focused on making sure their needs are being met while sneaking in moments when I can write. I’m lucky, I can handle most things but this is still a challenge. I’m just trying my best not to drown in negative thinking and find hope in the day to day. Connecting with friends and family helps. Finding joy every day.
Never Look Back is out today! If it could only be described in five words, what would they be?
Afro-Latino Love Wins Against Trauma
What inspired Never Look Back?
I was inspired to write Never Look Back by two things: Hurricane Maria landed in Puerto Rico in 2017 affecting my family. I felt rage and hopelessness while witnessing how our current government refused to help those in need. My way of coping is through writing so I needed to find a way to write about it. I used the structure of the Greek myth Orpheus and Eurydice to write about generational pain and love. The second thing that inspired the novel was the 1959 film Black Orpheus. In the film the Greek myth is set in Brazil during Carnival. I was obsessed with this film and it is how I learned about the myth. Never Look Back is a literary young adult remix that canters Brown and Black love and Caribbean folktale.
Were there any challenges you faced while writing?
Never Look Back is written in alternating point of views. I found writing Pheus’ POV easier. He’s a wannabe bachata singer who believes his gift is really used for wooing girls and that’s it. But Eury is tormented by what she witnessed before and after Hurricane Maria while also being haunted by an angry spirit. Eury’s story became way more personal than I expected and hence harder to write. Writing about mental illness and how the Latinx community sometimes fails to seek professional help was hard.
What do you hope readers will take away from Never Look Back?
I hope readers will immerse themselves in the journey Pheus and Eury partake. I also hope they are scared a little, get into the New York and Caribbean history I injected throughout the novel, and fall in love with them as much as I fell in love writing this story.
Your first novel published in 2017. What have you learned since then when it comes to writing and publishing?
I’ve learned that there is the art of writing and then there is the publishing side. I’m getting better at both.
What’s next for you?
I have a young adult novel I just finished writing that will hopefully be out next year. I can’t really share much about it but I will share it is set in Los Angeles. I also have a couple of other books I can’t share information on yet but it’s going to be so much fun when I can.
Lastly, what are you currently reading, and do you have any book recommendations for our readers?
I’m currently reading Mark Oshiro’s Each of Us A Desert. I loved their first novel and I’m falling for their beautiful prose again.
