Welcome back readers to the next episode of Indie Author Summer. I hope this sweltering weather is dying down for some of you as we approach the end of the hotter months. I am here to add even more books and indie authors to your radar … and TBRs (to-be-reads). This is a very special episode for us! I had the absolute honor to interview Bram Stoker Award Winning Author Pedro Iniguez. His collection Mexicans on the Moon won the Poetry category for 2024. I have read it and it was fantastic. Admittedly, I am not a poetry person, but I loved the collection, so that is saying something. It really gave me Ray Bradbury vibes so, if that is your jam, definitely go get this book.
Join us as we chat about Pedro’s journey into the indie author and independent/small press world, his evolution as a writer and what this award means to him. You do not want to miss it so, let’s talk about it.
Abby Wolf: Tell me about the first glimpses you had in your earlier life that were like “yes, I want to write stories and pursue publication”.
Pedro Iniguez: So, in college, (2007) I’d sit through lectures bored out of my mind and I’d write these little paragraph-long flash fiction stories to pass the time. This bookshop in Glendale, California called Mystery and Imagination, was hosting this open mic night on Halloween with a lot of great horror authors. I attended and brought one of my flash fiction pieces. There was a gentleman, a renowned and respected horror author by the name of Dennis Etchison reading one of his stories. He finished up and asked if anyone else would like to read a story before they wrapped up the event. I nervously raised my hand and read my story. When I finished the room went wild with applause. They liked my story. Dennis said he was impressed and that he hosted a weekly writing class and he’d like to see me there. Sure enough, I attended and he took me under his wing, invited to hang out with all the big shots in the L.A. writing community and the rest is history. I knew then I wanted to be a writer. All because someone believed in me.
Photo courtesy of author
A.W.: How has your writing evolved since you began publishing?
P.I.: I’ve been writing for 16 years and naturally, my writing has gotten better. When you practice something long enough you’re bound to get better at it.
A.W.: What is your biggest writing fear?
P.I.: I don’t have any writing fears per se, but sometimes I worry about things like making deadlines or running out of ideas. I never do, but it’s something that lives in the back of my mind.
A.W.: Describe a memorable interaction you had with a reader over one of your books or stories.
P.I.: I have a few. When my science-fiction poetry collection Mexicans on the Moon was published I had so many Latino readers message me telling they loved seeing themselves in these far-flung futures. That meant everything to me.
A.W.: What is your all time favorite book and your favorite quote from it?
P.I.: It’s hard to choose an all-time favorite book (1984, Fahrenheit 451, I Am Legend, etc.) but one of my favorite opening paragraphs is from William Peter Blatty’s Legion:
He thought of death in its infinite groanings, of Aztecs ripping out living hearts and of cancer and three-year-olds buried alive and he wondered whether God was alien and cruel, but then remembered Beethoven and the dappling of things and “Hurrah for Karamazov” and kindness. He stared at the sun coming up behind the Capitol, streaking the Potomac with orange light, and then down at the outrage, the horror at his feet. Something had gone wrong between man and his creator, and the evidence was here on this boathouse dock.
A.W.: Aside from writing, do you have any other artistic endeavors or hobbies?
P.I.: Yes, I love writing poetry, short stories, comic books and picture books, but I also love painting, drawing, cooking, and I used to play music (guitars and drums).
A.W.: How do you connect with readers and build your community in the indie publishing world?
P.I.: Usually through social media. I like to show people who I am along with my interests and creative pursuits. I like connecting with people that way.
A.W.: What is one aspect, beyond sales, that marks “success” to you?
P.I.: When readers connect with my work. When they tell me how something I wrote really resonated with them or entertained them or made them think. Also, Mexicans on the Moon is being taught at Cal State LA and Harold Washington College and has been sent to the library at San Quentin Prison. Those are things that mean the most to me.
A.W.: What was the first book that moved you emotionally and left it’s mark?
P.I.: Probably George Orwell’s 1984. It frightened me and has never really left my mind.
A.W.: What is your favorite thing to drink while writing?
P.I.: Water, coffee, or pre-workout drinks to help keep me awake!
A.W.: Is there anything else you’d like to share? … in your case, maybe about your Stoker win??
P.I.: Winning the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Poetry this year for Mexicans on the Moon has been the highlight of my career and it doesn’t escape me that a book about Latinos in far-flung futures exploring the reaches of space won at a time when many Latinos are facing deportation and mass discrimination in the U.S. I hope readers find comfort and inspiration within its pages.
Stay tuned for next weeks episode of #indieauthorsummer!
Images via respective owners
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