We chat with International Latino Book Award-winning author Ann Dávila Cardinal about her latest novel The Storyteller’s Death, a gorgeously written family saga about a Puerto Rican woman who finds herself gifted (or cursed?) with a strange ability.
Hi, Ann! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Sure! I’m a Latine writer based in Vermont. I write fiction, screenplays, and weird ass tweets. I also work for Vermont College of Fine Arts recruiting writers and designers for our MFA programs. I grew up in New Jersey and New York City, but have lived in rural Vermont for almost thirty years which has changed me. For instance, I discovered that I love the outdoors: I thought I was an indoor cat. And it seems that though half my blood is Puerto Rican, I kind of like the cold. Well, except in March and April. If you ask me then, I’ll whine at you about six months of snow and the ungodly cold where your nostrils freeze together.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I was always a voracious reader. Like a read-in-the-bathroom-at-school, kind of reader. But I never thought being a writer was an option for me. I came to it in my late thirties while finally finishing my undergraduate program. I started writing so I could document family stories for my son Carlos who had never met my mother. I wanted him to understand who she was. The interesting thing is, my new book, The Storyteller’s Death is all about the power of family stories. I guess it’s come full circle with this novel.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
First book I remember was Charlotte’s Web. I was eight and I read it over and over. Thing is, my father was dying of ALS, and the book is essentially a manual of how to deal with death as a child. In some ways it saved my life.
The one that made me want to become a writer would be In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. The way it told such an important story to Dominican culture, the gorgeous language, and how she made you care for each character until you were completely invested in their lives, though you knew the ending was not happy. Julia is my favorite writer.
And the one I can’t stop thinking about? Gabino Iglesias’ new novel The Devil Takes You Home. I love his work, so dark and so gorgeous. But heads up, it is extremely dark. If you want to know about trigger warnings of any kind, this seriously is not your book. But he captures the dark side of the human condition in such a powerful way. But it’s still haunting the beejeezus out of me.
Wow, each book on this list is SO vastly different from the next! It about sums up my varied tastes, though.
Your new novel, The Storyteller’s Death, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Family, stories, trauma, grief and healing.
(Boy, this is an interesting exercise!)
What can readers expect?
A generational family story about grief, trauma, love, and truth. They can expect to be transported to Puerto Rico in the 1970s, and to be thrust into the life of a girl of mixed backround trying to live and thrive with a homelife that works against that. It shows the warmth and unconditional love of a Latine family and culture, but doesn’t shy away from dark truths of colonialism, classism, and racism.
Where did the inspiration for The Storyteller’s Death come from?
I was talking with some writer friends one day almost twenty years ago, and I said “there was always some old woman dying in the back room when I was a kid.” My friend said, “That’s it! That’s the first line of a story!” And when I started writing a story about those old women, I found myself wondering about their stories, the ones that died with them. As it grew into a novel I began exploring my own family stories, perceived truths, and how in addition to stories that we pass on from one generation to another, we also pass on trauma, and that the healing is in the truth telling.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
Well, when my editor Christa Desir bought the manuscript, the first chapter was about Isla when she was eight, then it skipped to eighteen by the next. It was through her support and encouragement that I dove deeper into Isla’s challenging years in between with her alcoholic mother. I had to tap a very difficult time in my own life to write those four chapters. They’re fictional, but at their heart is the pain of growing up in a household with an addict. It was tough, but they came out almost fully formed because they’d been gestating for so long, waiting for when I was ready and for someone I trusted to bust them out. It was challenging, but I think it really fleshed out Isla’s story.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Oh, the trip she takes to Vieques, a small island off of the mainland of Puerto Rico. I’ve been in love with Vieques for decades, it’s stunning, even with the unexploded ordance left by the US Navy! Isla goes to there to visit a family friend named Chachu, in hopes of obtaining clues for the murder mystery she’s trying to solve before it kills her too. Chachu was based on someone from my childhood whom I adored. A big voiced, big presence—he was a great uncle, I think, but by marriage—who, for me, represented the best of Puerto Rican men. He was kind, made you feel seen and taken care of, and when he walked into a room every eye went to him and his big glowing personality. I had fun conjuring him since he died many years ago.
Were there any ‘must-haves’ you wanted to incorporate when it came to writing your novel, such as tropes, topics, characteristics etc?
I really, really wanted to capture the setting, the feeling of the land, the smells. I had a great aunt who lived on an acre of jungle in the middle of bustling Bayamón, and I spent hours running among the palm trees chasing lizards and eating fruit from the trees. It really was paradise for me, particularly given how bad it was at home. On the other end, I wanted to capture the racism within my family at the time, and examine what it’s like to love someone so deeply who has beliefs that go against everything you stand for. How do you still love them?
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Best: When you finish something and submit it to a publication, agent, or editor, don’t sit around waiting to hear: start or switch to another project. If you want to try and make a living at this, you can’t afford to be precious and only work on one thing at a time while waiting for the publishing machine to make up its mind. Plus your craft grows with each piece.
Worst: Plotting will ruin your creativity. I boasted I didn’t plot for years, but it was just an excuse because I was afraid of it, thought my brain didn’t work that way. It took two years, but my friend and mentor Cory McCarthy helped me find a method of plotting that didn’t shut my brain down, and now I love it! But I can still pivot: my next novel is not plotted out, but I am SO much less likely to go off on tangents that don’t serve the story.
What’s next for you?
Oh, my next book for Sourcebooks, We Need No Wings. It’s about who we are at a certain age when society tells us we’re invisible, that we don’t have as much to offer. It’s about the actual power and freedom in that stage of life. The opening line is: “The first time I levitated I was in the garden.” This is a life changing book for me, and I cannot wait to see where it takes me. I’m also writing screenplays with my son Carlos, mainly horror-comedies, and having a great time with that.
Lastly, what have been some of your favourite reads this year? Are there any upcoming releases you’re looking forward to reading in 2023?
Oh, this is always SO hard, because I love so many books and authors! Okay, I LOVED The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas. It takes place in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, and has a young woman trying to do what society expects (but also pushing against those expectations), a massively haunted house, and a sexy priest. In other words, it has everything! But if I had to choose my favorite of this year it would be A Woman of Endurance by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. A gorgeous sweeping novel that tells the story of a 19th century enslaved African woman on a plantation in Puerto Rico . This is a narrative that has been missing from the canon of Puerto Rican literature, and it needed to be told.
Most anticipated releases of 2023? The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro. A Mexican woman—mother, wife, daughter—struggling with generational trauma while being haunted by the ghostly folk spirit of La Llorona. V. writes wonderful strong, badass characters and I cannot WAIT for this one!
