#Latina Authors

[leyllethecreator]

Writing Tip #1: never underestimate the power of ugliness

Never underestimate the power of ugliness.

Uglying up your prose can be just as powerful as prettying it up.

Using words like bleeding, vomiting, to describe basic actions like water running out of a faucet can add a sense of violence or agony to a scene:

"Plunging his hands into the ice cold water vomiting from the sink..."

"Plunging his hands into the ice cold water bleeding from the sink..."

Using very ugly imagery to describe normal things can also work well in tandem with using prettied up (especially when it's exaggeratedly so) imagery for ugly things.

"Plunging his hands into the ice cold water vomiting from the sink, he wipes the last delicate dribbles of golden bile from his lower lip"

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros

Thank you @bumble_reads for the recommendation! ❤️

[tomewardbound]

"The night had no mistress but her." — Isabel Cañas, "Vampires of El Norte"

[haveacupofjohanny]

Reyna Grande: Championing Immigrant Narratives with Emotional Power

Reyna Grande’s powerful immigrant narratives inspire me to write with emotional depth and authenticity. Her stories show the beauty of vulnerability in storytelling. 🌍📖 #ReynaGrande #ImmigrantNarratives #LatinaAuthors #HaveACupOfJohanny

For this week’s Friday Feature, I’m highlighting a writer who continues to leave a profound mark on the literary world—Reyna Grande. Known for her emotionally resonant stories about the immigrant experience, Reyna gives voice to those whose stories often go untold. Her work is a masterclass in vulnerability, resilience, and the power of sharing personal truths, particularly in books like The…

[sincerelyveronica]

Gods of Jade & Shadow Review:

I finished this book a few weeks ago. I had to let this book sink in the 2nd time around. My thoughts towards this book are quite different from when I first heard this book back in 2020. Before I do my deep dive, let's give you a summary per usual.

Summary:

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

3/5 Stars

I will start off with saying that I still enjoyed all the Mayan folklore. Everything that had to do with Xibalba and Hun-Kamé were my favorite bits of the book. I actually paid more attention to the dialogue and was surprised by the romance that bloomed between Casiopea and Hun-Kamé. I honestly forgot that bit and really relished in the softness and tenderness that formed around them. I was actually very sad when their love could not be. Silvia Moreno-Garcia wrote that romance in such a subtle way, it really snuck on me. I appreciated that. The adventure was a lot of fun! Really enjoyed the journey to Xibalba.

BUT, my problem was that the book had so much inner dialogue. It became a little dense. I struggled at times to keep up with which character was talking. Another thing I was surprised with was that I didn't realize how petulant Casiopea and her cousin Martin were in this book. It really got on my nerves. There was a lot of complaining that I could have gone without. This book left longer to finish and I found myself struggling to get through. At one point, I wanted to stop reading it. I just really wanted the end not to drag on as it did. I think when you have too many points of view and you add a lot of description, the writing can get a little lost. That's what happened to me this time. I think I need to give it another few years and try again. I still do recommend it, mostly for the adventure, the romance, and all the Mayan folklore.

Has anyone read this one? I'm curious to hear your thoughts!

Sincerely,

Veronica

[leyllethecreator]

Well, Alicia and Kattar ("Damsel in the Red Dress") are out of school now, so I'll just say what they carry in their bags now (because yes, Kattar carries a "satchel" you could call it a purse and it wouldn't really bug him.)

Kattar:

Keys

medication

Hand cream

sunscreen

a comb and hairbrush

lip balm

his cellphone

wallet

sunglasses

pens

hand sanitizer

Probably way more stuff but I'll leave it there lol.

Alicia would carry:

wallet

keys

phone

That's basically it. If she thinks about it lip balm. She always forgets to carry makeup or a compact mirror with him, as well as the feminine products she should probably have for emergency.

OC Bag Game!

Thank you @leahnardo-da-veggie for the tag! There's a lot of unique game lately, haha!

Rules: Name five things your OC would have in a backpack or any bag at school.

Hmmm, let's use Go Min U. Just in case you wander, Does he go to college for study or just date around.

Inside his laptop bag (he's not using a common bag like others, he use his big laptop bag) :

1. Financial calculator

2. Management or marketing textbook

3. Laptop with business management software

4. Planner or agenda to organize business schedules

5. Binder

6. Economics or accounting textbook

7. Flash drive or external hard drive to store important data

8. ID Card, Wallet, Wired earphones

Can you guess what major he's study?

Tagging @wylloblr @lexywrite @leyllethecreator @cowboybrunch @rivenantiqnerd @ramwritblr @rynswritingames @shockingly-green-chicken and you!

[bacchanal-if]

I wish you all a Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year 💜

Felices Fiestas y Feliz Año Nuevo. 🥰

[lonewolfffie]

[atopvisenyashill]

i was tagged by @allyriadayne. i will tag @transdimensional-void @maegorsbignaturals @hello--jaime @chena-h @whitegownsandflowercrowns @g0lightly

books you want to read in the new year. three categories here

non fiction i an interested in reading & have been for awhile but haven’t gotten around too. p sure there’s been second editions published since i put them on my lists 🤧

stuff i’m reading bc it has to do with my areas of interest re: writing. i’ve been interested in horror & building suspense, who Doesn’t turn to ursula le guin when they’re trying to write fantasy, 2-3 of the main characters are inuit in my own writing so i just read (and watch) random shit so i don’t sound like im talking out of my ass.

stuff i want to read but it’s been hard to find them. i’ve checked every legal channel i know to not have to pay for we shall be no more & it is Nawt available for less than $50. im like 70% sure i’ll be able to get a request filled for the other two but it’s a lil hit or miss sometimes when you’re requesting from a university library.

[ennn]

Love the A-A-A fandom but as a Afro-Latina one thing that ain't it aside from how fandom predictably treats Jen as an angry black women stereotype 🙄🤦🏿‍♀️, is how often I've seen people assert Aubrey as white and in the process basically copy right wing racism into a progressive font or whitewash Rio's appearance. She is mixed and has spoken at length about how important it is to her. The Puerto Rican side of her family aren't white, and she's got documented Taíno heritage from that side. Other WOC in the industry have mentioned her as a peer, and she has played multiple canonically mixed race Latina characters. She isn't white, Rio isn't white.

Hi Anon, thanks for sharing for thoughts and embracing the AAA fandom!

I (fortunately) spend most of my time interacting regularly with like 5 people in the Tumblr fandom so I can't comment on how prevalent this thinking is in the wider fandom. I can only say that if AAA fanfic is any indicator this thinking isn't that common... although there's probably... other issues to unpack 😅

[importantwomensbirthdays]

Perla Suez

Perla Suez was born in 1947 in Córdoba, Argentina. Suez started out publishing novels and short stories for children. In 2000, she published her first novel for adults, Letargo, which was a finalist for the Rómulo Gallegos Prize. In 2008, Suez won the Grinzane-Cavour International First Prize for The Entre Ríos Triology. Her 2012 novel Humo rojo won the Premio Nacional de la Novela, the most prestigious honor for an Argentine author.

[leyllethecreator]

Rigamarole: Section 3: Confluence

I know he’s not interested in talking, but turning the radio on would still feel like telling him to shut up.

I could think of a thousand things to say if left to my own devices - but my body has felt like one big system error for the last five years. 

I have a thousand things I want to say and I don’t feel like saying any of them, staring at the back of his curly head as he studies his scrawny arm resting on the windowsill, with something like stubborn pride that unsettles me.

“How do you calculate the length of the hypotenuse?” I blurt brusquely, like it’s a dare.

“I don’t need you to quiz me, Lady Licorice,” He doesn’t turn his gaze from his arm, rolling down his sleeve until it hides his bloodless hands.

“Excuse me for trying to keep you out of summer school,” I sniff with more than genuine vehemence. “Remind me who got a ‘D’ on their last test?”

“I didn’t study for that one. I studied for this one,” he says in an exasperated monotone, crossing his arms over his chest - leaning forward against the seat belt like he’s a ragdoll just barely being kept upright.

I purse my lips at that, but he can’t see me, my eyebrows furrowing into a migraine. I try to push it back with one hand, keeping the other on the steering wheel.

I shouldn’t have left without my coffee this morning…

“So what’s this ‘plan?’”

“Don’t want to go into it.”

I can barely feel my numb fingers resting on the faux leather wheel cover - watching the red light grow from a speck and bleed into color. I shift - reminding myself of the feeling of cotton on my skin. Weight. That I can feel my hair on my neck. If I stop to think about it.

“I thought we said we were going to tell each other what was going on?”

He looks over at me slowly as I stare at him, my jaw set, and his eyes dare me back.

“Is Kevin still texting you?”

“Not enough to be jealous of.”

I manage to keep my uncomfortable heartbeat from showing - but I feel cold on the outside - wondering if the only reason my heart isn’t pounding against my ribs is because it’s shrinking.

Riley glares at me rancorously.

“What did he say?”

Shifting uncomfortably against my seat belt as the car pauses at the street corner, I wriggle my phone from my jean’s pocket and toss it onto his lap with as much un-phase-ed-ness as I can muster, and turn the radio up to a murmur to drown out this feeling under my skin.

“An albino- a mosquito-!”

Riley scrolls back and forth between the two most recent texts as I glance over his shoulder.

That’s what you said last year, Kevin.

Sorry, Lei. I know. I’ve been dying to come see you again but I’ve got no time. My mom’s been on my back about grades all year like a drill sergeant because of graduation. But maybe this summer if she doesn’t make me go with her to visit her family again.

Riley looks at me in abject indignation. I just shrug a little.

“Don’t tell me you’re buying this.”

“I’m not buying anything,” I say a little too shortly, defensively. “I just let him talk. If he comes he comes. If he doesn't, who cares?

Riley looks like there’s something else he wants to say to that, but he just puts the phone on the dashboard to sunbathe in the little light eking its way through the foggy morning haze and lifts his ghost-like hand to his mouth to check his sour breath.

A thousand thoughts spiral in my brain. Shake themselves up and rearrange into new phrases - nonsense and blabber - like a bag of scrabble pieces - but-

“You smell like barf.”

-Is what comes out.

He just scowls at me, but I scowl back, bitterly.

“After all this time, you still haven’t learned how to cover your tracks?”

[ashleybenlove]

[gnaws tree bark about whether I wanna finish the book I'm reading or not]

[haveacupofjohanny]

Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Breaking Genre Barriers and Inspiring Multi-Genre Writers

Silvia Moreno-Garcia proves you don’t need to stick to one genre to be successful. She’s my inspiration for writing stories that defy the mold. 🖤✨ #MultiGenreWriting #SilviaMorenoGarcia #LatinaAuthors #HaveACupOfJohanny #MexicanGothic

In this week’s Friday Feature, I want to shine a light on the brilliant Silvia Moreno-Garcia—an author who continues to defy expectations and break genre boundaries with each new book. From gothic horror in Mexican Gothic to the noir vibe of Velvet Was the Night and the speculative fiction in Gods of Jade and Shadow, Silvia’s work refuses to be put into a box. And for me, she’s been nothing short…

[gigantomachylesbian]

Guys. I did not know before now that writing could be painfully millennial in a full prose book but the pho*nix ke*per has proven me wrong and I have to complain about it in the tags

[shespeaksinsongs]

Too gringa, demasiada latina

When I say I��m from Venezuela, sometimes people misunderstand me.

“Minnesota? Oh, cool! I hear it’s nice there this time of year.”

I fight the urge to roll my eyes, because

I wouldn’t want to meet the stereotype of being “feisty,” 

(Not that there’s anything wrong with that, Sofia Vergara)

and I repeat.

Other times, they look at me through furrowed brows,

Unaware that there are countries that speak Spanish other than

Mexico and Spain.

They tell me to prove it, but how?

How do I prove wearing yellow underwear every New Year’s Eve, 

For good luck?

Where are the records saying that 

I am a certified quinceañera?

Who documents how often I eat

Arepas?

Where are the diary entries from the week that I spent,

Pent up in my room,

Afraid that la llorona would get me at night?

And even though they wouldn't know a thing,

About how it feels to have your identity constantly questioned,

I worry that they're right.

I can’t recite the Venezuelan anthem like my dad proudly does, before each fútbol game,

I can’t bake a quesillo like my mom does, for each birthday.

And if you asked me what “carcacha,” meant, I couldn’t tell you,

But I could sing that song by Selena if you needed me to.

After my parents are gone,

And all that is left of them is my Spanish and my drooping nose,

Who will carry their legacy?

Most days,

When it is dark and everyone else is asleep,

I ask my ceiling what language my children will speak,

And if they will be able to dance salsa,

Or if they will know what a torta de guayaba tastes like,

Or if they will ever be able to gaze up at the billowing yellow, blue, and red flag,

Complete with eight stars for the eight provinces,

(Barcelona, Barinas,

Caracas, Cumaná,

Guayana, Margarita

Mérida, and Trujillo)

and be able to say,

“That’s mine - es mi país.”

I wonder if they will see this all and grasp it - 

Hold it in the palm of their hands,

Or if they will be just as lost as I am.

-

guys this was my first poem on here!! i wrote it for my english class. the theme was identity. i hope you like this, and even more, if you can relate to this, i hope i could give you at least the smallest bit of comfort. my dm's are always open if you want to discuss these kinds of things... and even if you don't - they're still open <3 i love chatting, so text me!

my biggest thank you's to @definitelymustard and @marcela6malfoy for proof-reading and critiquing! <33

shespeaksinsongs ©