We chat with author Andy C. Naranjo about Cursed Ever After, which is a dazzling romantic fantasy debut brimming with snark, humor, and banter-filled romance perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and Once Upon a Broken Heart.
Hi, Andy! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
As expected from a New Yorker, the first thing I’m going to mention about myself is that I’m a born-and raised New Yorker. I grew up in a fourth-floor walkup apartment in Washington Heights, went to high school in the Bronx, and went to college in Southern California. I speak four languages (all of them badly) and I lived abroad for about four years. I moved back home for a while before leaving NYC because it was too cold. Now I live in Austin where it’s too hot. But my dogs are happy and that’s all that matters.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
In fourth grade, I was given an assignment to write a short story about what the future might look like in 20X0 (it was so long ago I can’t remember the year). It was supposed to be typed and printed but I didn’t have a computer, so I asked my mom’s boss’s kid to type for me since I had no idea how. I went on to regale her with a tale about a really cool, thinly-veiled self-insert who had pink rollerskates and was well liked by everyone. When I finished yapping, the boss’s kid acted real impressed and told me I was good at telling stories. As I am very fond of attention and praise, it was a done deal after that. Been writing ever since.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Shoebag by Marijane Meaker (showing my age here)
- The one that made you want to become an author: The Two Princesses of Bamarre by queen of fairytales, Gail Carson Levine
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Your debut novel, Cursed Ever After, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Idiots forced to work together.
What can readers expect?
An absolutely unserious time with the vibes of Shrek and The Princess Bride.
Where did the inspiration for Cursed Ever After come from?
Probably from unexplored trauma growing up, but the fun answer is: I was on a writing retreat and jokingly told my friends, “What if I write Shrek with Latinos?” I wrote the first chapter, read it aloud, and was bullied into writing more. A month later, I had the first draft.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing Risa and Javi’s interactions. I’m a sucker for idiots who don’t know how to express their true feelings and resort to humor when handling hard moments. Watching the character growth as they learn to open up, let their guard down, get hurt, and come out stronger on the other side is just such a fascinating thing to read and write. It also lets me explore my own issues with emotional vulnerability without paying for therapy (don’t worry, I also pay for therapy).
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
It was the first book I wrote as an adult—and I had absolutely no idea or concept about how much harder the revision process is when dealing with So. Many. Words. In school, I was pretty good at writing clean drafts of papers and projects that hardly ever changed after revision, except my final 80-page thesis that really should have warned me of what the future would hold. After writing Cursed Ever After, I was forced to acknowledge that maybe I wasn’t the literary genius I thought myself to be growing up.
I’m now much better at revisions—and even taking feedback!—but I’m still delusional enough to think my first drafts are basically the next Great American Novel. Until I reread my work and realize maybe I’m just a girl with two little braincells struggling to create logical thought. And I think that’s beautiful.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
I am not a young, fresh-eyed debutante; I’m a grizzly veteran who spent years in the query trenches, then another few years trying to sell a book to a publisher. It’s been a long, arduous road. I mean, I wrote this book while in a fever-state in January 2020! But I do think the long runway actually helped me manage my expectations around my “publishing journey.” I try my best not to place any value on external validation because at the end of the day, all of it is made up and the points don’t matter!
What’s next for you?
There’s a book on the horizon in 2027. It’s kind of really different from Cursed Ever After but readers can still expect to find my bread-and-butter of idiots-working-together.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I have read so many great books this year! Off the top of my head, I’m gonna say Mirrorwoven by Bori Cser, which comes out in August here in the US; An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole; You’re Dead to Me, Reed Walker by Gwenyth Reitz; and When Dealing with Dragons by Dana Swift. I’ve also got some on my TBR that I’m hoping to start asap: An Ungodly Chaos by Selma Soren; Heart’s Gambit by JD Myall; Midnight on the Celestial by Julia Alexandra; Into the Burning Deep by Jenna Voris; and Spellwright by Heather Kassner. There’s more to add but I just can’t choose please don’t make me I know I did this to myself.
