Queer Latino Musings on Literature is proud to be participating in the first ever “Virtual Latino Book Tour”, which is debuting on the blogosphere with the very talented Puerto Rican-American writer Estevan Vega. Estevan, who is an impressive twenty years old and has already published a few books, will be available for questions, etc, right here on this blog page, via the “Comments” section, on Thursday, June 25th. So if you have things you’d like to ask him, fire away! Here is his artist statement and an excerpt from his latest book, The Sacred Sin.
Hello, world,
My name is Estevan Vega. I’m a writer. That’s usually all I like to tell people. That and that I’m not crazy about speaking in front of people, or really attractive girls. Scratch that…any girl. Some of you might have heard of me, but most of you probably haven’t. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you. But, if you care to know, I write fiction, and have a tendency to be very transparent. So, here it goes.
As a kid, I would have told you that reading books was the farthest thing from entertainment. I never really appreciated the written word and absolutely hated books…until the fifth grade, when I realized I might actually have to like them if I were going to start contributing to the collection. From small short stories and fictional essays for school, I began to take a liking to darker, supernatural elements, and have since enjoyed incorporating them into each story. As the second of four sons, sometimes I felt like the “monkey in the middle.” I liked to write when my brothers couldn’t stand to read. Rock music constantly poured out of my speakers, while they took a liking to rap and hip-hop. Oh, did I mention I was chubby? Needless to say, I felt somewhat out of place at times, even in my own house. But, I can’t say I’m fully bitter, because it gave me some good writing material, personal experience, and pent-up aggression, which occasionally breathes out of the more cynical characters I create, like Jude Foster in The Sacred Sin.
Publishing a book is no easy feat. I learned that firsthand as a sophomore in high school, when I published Servant of the Realm. My first literary venture was a sci-fi thriller about a teen who steals a corrupting serum which allows him to see the deaths of those closest to him. He spends much of the novel trying to change their fates and gets addicted to these horrible circumstances. The Sacred Sin, my second novel, was released when I was 18, and deals with a deeper subject: the darkness within all of us. It’s about struggling with the demons surrounding us—literal and figurative—as well as warring against the inner demons urging us to do the darkest things.
I have lived in Connecticut all my life, moving to and from various cities, but never fully escaping. I now reside in a small town called Portland, but have spent the last year up by Boston at Gordon College.
And now, here’s a taste of The Sacred Sin.
It felt so real again, like he was living it over, only this time he could rewind it, fast-forward it, freeze it. Each time it grew more painful, truer. Engle Baker, the miserable soul whom the rest of the outside world knew as Morgan’s daddy, was still whispering that name to him now, so many years later. It was real, not just memory.
Morgan walked into the bathroom and shut the door. It was dark, the way things usually were in the Baker house. A fracture of light fought its way in through the bottom slit in the door, but the darkness was too great. He shuddered. Something was nudging up against his foot. At first, he became startled, but it was just the body of his father, the remains at least. At this point in time, the fleshy parts were completely unidentifiable, a gash where the throat used to be now decayed and bony so as to appear as though there never was one at all. The holes where each eyeball once was were hollow and black; Morgan hated it when people stared at him, most of all Engle. But he didn’t even mind the stench anymore. Incensed and afraid again, Morgan took out a blade and put it into his hand, feeling the blood drain from his body. But no matter how hard he squeezed, no matter how deep the wound, it kept closing up. He hated not being able to hurt himself, not able to kill the pain. He kept the blade tucked into the flesh of his palm for nearly five minutes. Tears swelled in his eyes, irate painful tears. Real tears. Morgan hadn’t cried in twenty years, but tonight—for a few moments—he remembered what it was like to be human.
Look for me on my first ever Virtual Blog Tour, and visit www.estevanvega.com for ordering info, my personal blog, and up-to-date news on the development of my latest novel Arson, releasing later this year.
Here are Estevan’s host blogs for his tour, courtesy of Julia Amante’s blog. These other blogs will be of interest to many Queer Latino Musings on Literature readers, too!
June 14
Eljumpingbean
http://authorslatino.com/wordpress
http://eljumpingbean.blogspot.com
Hilarious! Don’t miss it.
June 15
Latinitas Magazine
http://www.latinitasmagazine.org
June 16
The Art of Random Willynillyness.com
Carol in Carolina
http://theartofrandomwillynillyness.blogspot.com
http://caroincarolina.blogspot.com
June 17
Caridad Pineiro
http://www.caridad.com/
June 18
Writing to Insanity
http://www.locacrazywriter.blogspot.com
June 19
Julia Amante
http://www.juliaamante.comblogspot.com/
June 20
Musings
http://Nilkibenitez.blogspot.com
June 21
rafaelMarquez.me
http://www.rafaelmarquez.me
June 22
Latina Reader
http://blogs.qoobole.com/latina-reader
June 23
Café of Deams
http://cafeofdreams.blogspot.com/
June 24
Latino Pundit
http://www.latinopundit.com
June 25
Queer Latino Musings on Literature
http://charlievazquez.wordpress.com/
June 26
Mama Latina Tips
http://www.mamalatinatips.com
June 27
Latino Book Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-6309-Latino-Books-Examiner
For those of you who are visting me for the first time, my name is Charlie Vázquez and I’m a Brooklyn-based gay writer of Cuban and Puerto Rican extraction. This blog functions alongside my book reviews and interviews with authors in AMBIENTE, the largest Latino LGBT culture e-zine www.ambiente.us. I also host a popular reading series in New York called PANIC!, which features different lineups of LGBT writers and others. I would like to thank Estevan Vega and Jo Ann Hernandez (organizer) for having me be a part of his tour and encourage you, if you don’t already subscribe to my blog, to register for my bimonthly newsletters, which feature interviews with Latino writers and book reviews on books of interest to Latinos, with an emphasis on our LGBT community (scroll down a bit). It’s time to increase the exchange of culture between the queer community and the community-at-large, in these changing times.
Coming next time: An interview with John Stahle, the editor of Ganymede, a stylish and sexy men’s literature and art quartlery published in New York. www.ganymedenyc.com
To receive my bimonthly posts straight to your email, register here: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=CharlieVazquez
Charlie Vázquez
writer, book reviewer, and PANIC! reading series host
Home page: http://www.firekingpress.com
Hey, Charlie,
This all looks great. Thanks again for being a part of the tour. I’m looking forward to the stop.
Estevan,
You’re more than welcome…let’s see if we can get some peeps to ask you questions. I will pitch the first ball tomorrow morning!
Charlie
Hi Charlie,
I was wondering how you got your first novel, once published, known to the world?
Did you find it was popular as a new release or did it take a while to be picked up by the public?
Melissa
That’s a great question, Melissa. So Estevan, maybe you can explain to us how (other than this tour) you have outreached to readers to get to read your book. Also, as a writer of novels, do you sit down and sketch a summary and timeline of the plot and progression, or does that write itself out for you?
Charlie
Melissa,
I just realized you asked ME that question. I self-published my first novel (a mere 100 copies) and distributed it to friends and family, and also sold a few via my website at the time. I have since stopped self-publishing and researched the conventional publishing world and now have two books set for publication in November 2009 and spring 2010. I take it you’re a writer? If so, start a blog that deals with what it is you write about and promote that. Meet other writers in your area and investigate social networking media to get your name out there. Does thatanswer your question?
Charlie
For me, writing just sort of happens. I sit down and force myself to do it. Lately, I’ve been able to write an entire short story in one sitting, like a couple hours. I don’t think I was ever able to do that. For my novels, though, I usually just get an idea, then it sits in my brain for awhile, until it wants to be written. I then sit down and let it kind of write itself, putting my own input in now and then.
For publishing, I wrote Servant of the Realm, my first book, when I was 15, or it came out then. I had no idea of the publishing world, or how godawful hard it is to get picked up by an agent or publisher. I self-pubbed the first one. Then with The Sacred Sin, I did not self-publish, but it is Print-on-demand, which doesn’t make it impossible to get into stores, but very difficult. I have still managed to spread the word, though. This book tour is a huge help. I’ve also set up my own interviews with local press, tv, and book signings. I also have a pretty cool site, so you do what you can. Good luck to all the writers checking this out.
Estevan,
will you be coming to NYC to promote your book? If so let me know so I can tell people–also, there is a great bookstore called Housing Works in Soho that youshould look into. They’re very organized and it’s a great space. Have you done readings before and do you enjoy them?
Charlie
I wonder if Melissa will show up again?
Anything else you’d like to say, Estevan? If not, good luck with your book projects and contact me if you head this way..
Charlie
Hi, Charlie,
Sorry for kinda disappearing yesterday. I enjoyed stopping by. Thanks for hosting me on your blog, man. It was great. And thanks for giving me that bookstore in Soho. I would love to do a reading there, but probably when the next book comes out. It’s been a pleasure.