It’s been a minute since I’ve gotten to interview an author, so I was pretty excited to interview Kaela Rivera, author of the upcoming book, Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls. It’s a middle grade fantasy novel that is full of Latin American mythological creatures and folklore. It explores friendship and sisterhood, as well as our relationships with the things we think we know. I absolutely adored this book, and I hope that you will too!
Kaela, can you tell us a bit about yourself, and about Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls?
Thank you so much for having me! My father is Mexican-American and my mother is British (born and raised in the London area before she eventually came to the US), so growing up I loved learning about cultures—when I wasn’t being a huge fantasy nerd with a thirst of adventure. If I wasn’t exploring the forests of my Tennessee home, I was writing books about the adventures I wished I could go on. I guess it’s no surprise that I grew up wanting to be a writer.
Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls, my debut novel, is the story of twelve-year-old Cecelia Rios who the village of Tierra del Sol believes to be cursed because she had mercy on a criatura, a powerful desert spirit, when she was younger. She’s come to believe that their taunts about her being weak are right—until her older sister, Juana Rios, gets kidnapped by the dark criatura El Sombrerón. With her older sister gone, Cece must step up and become a bruja to get her back. But she’s not very good at pretending to be the hardened, cruel bruja she thinks she needs to be. Fortunately, the very things she believes to be weaknesses—her kindness, empathy, and compassion—may be the very strengths that win her powerful allies who can help her free her sister from El Sombrerón’s clutches.
What inspired Cece’s story?
Toward the end of college, I reconnected with my abuelo and the Mexican part of my heritage. He told me all kinds of stories about what it was like growing up in northern Mexico, taught me so much more Spanish, and all-in-all inspired me. The experience grew such strong love for this part of my culture that I decided to write the kind of fantasy story I would have loved to have had when I was growing up: a fantasy adventure set in a world inspired by Mexico, with Mesoamerican folklore. I based the setting in the stories my abuelo told and paid homage to the stories he’d told me. That novel became Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls.
As I wrote it, it also became a place where I could explore and talk about other things that are important to me: kindness, empathy, and the importance of healthy relationships—and how things can go wrong.
This book is full of rich legends of all sorts of mythological Mexican and Latin American creatures. Which one was your favorite to incorporate into the story?
All of the legends were fun to incorporate (and put my own spin on), but I think Tzitzimitl was probably my favorite one to explore. In Aztec mythology, Tzitzimitl had an interesting, dual nature I was fascinated by; the Tzitzimimeh (that’s the plural of Tzitzimitl) were both powerful, supernatural protectors of children and pregnant women and monstrous skeletal beings who descended from the stars to slaughter people during each eclipse. I wanted to unpack the ramifications of both and see where it led me.
Tzitzimitl was also a more obscure myth I’d never come across before, so I wanted to showcase it a bit more for those who were unfamiliar with it, like I had been.
Cece is a young woman who’s full of determination, and has such a special bond with her sister. What do you think her sister Juana would have to say about her right now?
Thank you! I think Cece is too. And that’s a great question with a complicated answer.
Juana is an interesting character—you don’t see too much of her throughout the novel (getting kidnapped will do that), but she has a strong protective love for Cece that’s partially fueled by her belief that her younger sister is weak and needs protecting. Plus, she’s a first born, so that feeling is compounded.
With all that in mind, I think that Juana would be shocked and have a difficult time adjusting to how she fits into Cece’s life now that Cece’s confident in her own strength—and at the same time, I know Juana would be proud of her and grateful to her for all she’s done. It will be a lot for Juana to take in, especially after all that she herself went through in Devil’s Alley.
I loved the focus on the dark criaturas and the brujas, can you talk about how you were able to flesh out this part of the story?
The dark criaturas came from my desire to include spooky, human-esque figures from legend like El Silbón, El Sombrerón, and El Cucuy. They didn’t quite fit with the precedent set by shape-shifting animal criaturas, which gave me a great opportunity to explore how and why Coyote brought them into being. But at their thematic heart, the dark criaturas became a way to explore just how deeply bad choices made out of anger, great pain, or grief can change a person—and how far those choices can extend the same pain and hurt.
In a way, the brujas are an exploration of a similar idea—except, with a stronger focus on power. I’ve always found power an interesting subject. Some people want it so they can help more people. And others want it so they can be superior to others, or so they can be so far above others that no one can hurt them again. It can be a dangerous lure, but I still believe power can also be used for good.
What has your publishing journey been like during the pandemic?
Although it comes with a lot of difficult territory I didn’t anticipate, publishing during the pandemic has also given me something to look forward to and be excited about during the past year. So in a lot of ways, I’m grateful for the timing, even if it wasn’t what I’d imagined.
Plus, I’ve been impressed and comforted by the way people have reached out to support Cece online. It’s been rousing and encouraging to have that kind of support during such a weird publishing time. But I still look forward to going to conferences and book fairs whenever it’s safe for everyone!
What was your favorite part of your writing process while drafting Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls?
My favorite part of writing in general is stepping into an undiscovered world and unknown characters, and learning more about them. That’s why the first or second draft is usually my favorite, as it was for Cece. There are so many possibilities to explore, so much potential!
In Cece, I particularly loved writing the Bruja Fights—and the quiet scenes afterward, where Cece and her friends talk and reveal more about themselves in their vulnerabilities. There was so much to learn about the characters and the world during those scenes in the first couple drafts. It was like I’d stepped through a portal and had to quickly write down everything I was watching to make sense of it.
What is something that helps you connect with your work as you’re writing?
It depends on the story, but I love having a certain song (or playlist) or movie as an inspiration anchor when I want to connect or reconnect to the story I’m writing. The song and movie doesn’t usually have something to do with the story I’m writing, but something in it evokes the feeling that I’m going for.
For example, I listened to The Croods in the background whenever I was having trouble revising Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls. Why? Anyone who’s watched The Croods will probably agree it doesn’t seem like it matches up with Cece. But something about the Owl City title song mixed with the strange, new world and themes about light always stir my heart and help me find the pulse of Cece’s story if I’ve lost it. I don’t know why it works, but it does, so I go with it!
If Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls could be adapted into film, musical, or anything else, what would you choose?
My top preferences would be a big live action film or a full animated series like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I love how some fantastical things (like those that happen in Cece) can come across so much more powerfully in animation than in live action—unless the live action is done extremely well.
But I’m also a huge musical lover, so I’d be ready to listen if someone was able to turn Cece into a musical!
Finally, what’s next for Cece Rios? Another book I hope?
I’d love to take readers on another adventure with both Cece and Juana—this time into Devil’s Alley. Keep your fingers crossed and your eye on my social media! I have high hopes.
