1. How did you come up with the story Lobizona?
Like Manu, I was leafing through a Spanish newspaper when I discovered the Argentine law that inspired this story—ley de padrinazgo presidencial 20.843. It declares the President of Argentina godparent to the seventh consecutive son or daughter in a family. I was curious what inspired this odd bit of legislation, so I fell down the rabbit hole of online research, and I found a superstition about seventh children that claims they’re born cursed: Seventh daughters are born brujas, and seventh sons are lobizones. Werewolves. Naturally, I couldn’t resist. . . .
2. Which of the characters from Lobizona are you the most similar to?
I probably relate to Manu most because we both love the same books. Since she’s grown up isolated from kids her age, stories have always kept her company. I feel like in addition to English, Spanish, and Spanglish, we also share a bookish language, and it’s probably where we’re most fluent.
3. What parts/scenes for the book (without spoiling) was the hardest to write?
It’s not really a spoiler—since it’s included in the pitch copy—but the ICE raid was by far the hardest scene to write. After getting it down, I consulted a handful of immigration attorneys to make sure everything sounded plausible. Every time I read through the manuscript, that chapter hurts. It’s a horror we don’t get to walk away from when we set down the book.
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