We chat with author Isabel Cañas about her debut supernatural suspense novel The Hacienda, which is set in the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence, about a remote house, a sinister haunting, and the woman pulled into their clutches.
Described as Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca, read on to learn more about her debut, writing, book recommendations and more!
Hi, Isabel! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a Mexican American writer who loves all things gloriously Gothic and spooky. I got my start writing fantasy and stumbled into horror when a story about a stubborn young woman, a priest with dark secrets, and a crumbling house of spirits seized me by the throat and wouldn’t let me go. That story became The Hacienda, my first novel. I love coffee, thunderstorms, the dozens of propagated pothoses currently staging a coup of my office, and daydreaming my afternoons away. The latter has somehow become my full-time job and I could not be happier!
How has the first half of 2022 been for you?
It has been a tempest! I finished writing my PhD dissertation and successfully defended it the day before The Hacienda was released. Finishing seven years of graduate school and publishing my first novel in the same 24-hour period was a seismic moment of change, and honestly, I’m still reeling from it.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I have a distinct memory of dictating stories to my older sister before I even learned how to write. I must have been about four years old! I am blessed to come from a family of brilliantly witty storytellers—in one way or another, narrative has always been a central part of my life.
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!
One of the first books I remember reading was Zlata’s Diary: A Child’s Life In Wartime Sarajevo, by Zlata Filipovic. I was about eight years old and homeschooled and a voracious reader who seized everything my mom brought into the house. In 2015, The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh was the first novel I read that made me realize that becoming an author was within reach. It was also the first time I flipped back to a book’s acknowledgements and looked up the author’s agent to put on a list to one day query. One novel I just can’t stop thinking about The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews—the chemistry in this book lives in my head rent free!
Your new novel, The Hacienda, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Atmospheric, Gothic, suspenseful, romantic, and eerie.
What can readers expect?
Haunted home improvement with a side of the hot priest from Fleabag… but make it Mexican. In all seriousness: The Hacienda is first and foremost a suspenseful, spooky yarn about things that go bump in the dark, but it also has witches where you least expect them, a bittersweet touch of romance, and a critical look at structures of power in post-colonial Mexico.
Where did the inspiration for The Hacienda come from?
As a child, I lived in many houses. My family moved about every four years between when I was born and when I moved away to university. I became aware at a young age of how houses have different atmospheres, different vibes, if you will, and had the misfortune of living in one or two that felt deeply uncomfortable. Were they haunted? Maybe, maybe not—but they certainly fed my already wild imagination and fear of the dark.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
As much as I love the Gothic, I’m actually a huge weenie when it comes to horror. I accidentally gave myself nightmares as I wrote the hauntings that plague Beatriz when she moves into Hacienda San Isidro! (The solution? Reader, I very maturely insisted that my husband be the one to turn off the lights at night.)
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really loved writing the quiet moments between Beatriz and Padre Andrés. Building their careful, tender friendship was my own respite from writing the terrors of Hacienda San Isidro.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
Worst: I distrust anything that begins with you must or must not do x. Every writer (and every book!) is different. The great task of the writer’s life is to learn and relearn their own practice as the seasons of their lives change.
Best: Keep your eyes on your own paper. Professional jealousy can shred precious industry friendships, and nine times out of ten, it’s simply not a productive emotion. (That tenth time is when you can channel that jealousy into writing. Personally, spite has launched me into many a productive writing session, but YMMV!)
What’s next for you?
My next Adult novel with Berkley is scheduled for Summer 2023! I can’t say much about it yet, but it includes several elements that are similar to The Hacienda: 1) nineteenth-century Mexican history, 2) romance, and 3) that hair-raising sense, when the candles die, that something in the dark is watching you.
I’m in the midst of revising it and am absolutely obsessed with the characters. I hope readers will be too!
Lastly, do you have any 2022 book recommendations for our readers?
I just finished reading the Gothic and atmospheric fantasy novel House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson. Elegant, dark decadence doesn’t even begin to describe this lush tale of depravity, sensuality, and horror. It’s out in September, so preorder it now and thank me later!
You can find Isabel on Instagram and at her website.
