Silvio
Sirias’s most recent novel is The Saint
of Santa Fe (Anaphora Literary Press).
He is also the author of Bernardo and the
Virgin (2005) and Meet Me under the
Ceiba (2009), winner of the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize for Best Novel. In
addition, he is the author of a collection of essays titled Love Made Visible: Reflections on Writing,
Teaching, and Other Distractions. The
Routledge Companion to Latino/a Literature lists him among the handful of
authors who are introducing Central American themes into the U.S. literary
landscape.
Purchase The Saint of Santa Fe on Amazon.
Thanks
for letting us interrogate you! Can you
give us a go-for-the-gut answer as to why you wanted to be an author?
The answer to that question has
evolved over the years. I first I sought recognition—fortune and fame. Now that
I’m older it’s about leaving behind something of myself.
Tell
us (we won’t tell promise!) is it all it’s cracked up to be? I mean what are the perks and what are the demands?
Fame and fortune only happen to
a lucky chosen few. If a writer can accept this reality, then the act of
writing becomes a quest to learn more about the craft with each project. Perks?
Touching others with your tales. Demands? Plenty! But if one is writing for the
right reasons, then these are easy to live with.
Which
route did you take – traditional or self-published – and can you give us the
nitty gritty low down on what’s that like?
I started off writing in the
world of academia. Because of this, I’ve mainly worked with university presses.
It is not a traditional route and a writer doesn’t ride it to fame and fortune;
but publishing with university presses has certainly helped me create a
readership base.
Tell
us for real what your family feels about you spending so much time getting your
book written, polished, edited, formatted, published, what have you?
My wife is a school
administrator. Her job keeps her very, very busy. Also, we don’t have
children—so you can say my family circumstances are ideal for writing.
This
is for pet lovers. If you don’t own a
pet, skip this question, but do your pets actually get their food on time or do
they have to wait until you type just one more word?
I am fortunate that our dog and
four cats are grazers. We just have to fill their bowls when they’re getting
empty. So I’m blessed in the pet front as well. In fact, the dog and one of the
cats always keep me company, sleeping nearby when I write.
This
is for plant lovers. If you don’t own a
plant, skip this question, but if you do, are they actually still alive?
I live in Panama, in the
tropics. Everyone has a green thumb here. But I also enjoy taking care of
plants. When I water them, I use the time to think about writing.
In
writing your book, how did you deal with the phone ringing, your family needing
dinner or your boss calling you saying you’re late?
I am a teacher, but I’m also
fortunate that, occasionally, I can take a couple of years off to write a book.
When I am at home full-time, then, I don’t have a boss. All I need to do is to
have dinner ready when my wife comes home. I write from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. After
that, I do a few chores around the house. When I stay home to write I have a
lovely schedule. In order to do this, however, my wife and I have chosen to
live simple, debt-free lives.
What
was the craziest or insane thing that happened to you in the book publishing
process?
What happened while I was
trying to place my second novel, Meet Me under the Ceiba, was actually rather sad. I had sent the manuscript to Sandy Taylor,
owner of Curbstone Press. He was attuned to U.S. Latino and Latina literature
as well as the history of Central America. He loved the idea of the novel and
said would get back to me as soon as he read the manuscript. A couple of days
later, I learned that Sandy has suffered a heart attack and passed away. We had
both been excited at the prospect of working together. What had promised to be
a wonderful publisher-author relationship came to an abrupt end. It still
haunts me that his death occurred as we stood at that threshold.
How
about the social networks? Which ones do
you believe help and which ones do you wish you could avoid?
Facebook and Twitter help get
the word out. Those are the two I focus on.
Book
sales. Don’t you just love them (or lack
of?)? How are you making the sales
happen for you?
So far I haven’t been blessed
with impressive sales. But every time I put out a new novel the back catalog
comes alive for a while. I take that as a sign that little by little I am
picking up new readers.
What
is one thing you’d like to jump on the rooftop and scream about?
Although I should really be
focusing on The
Saint of Santa Fe, I am terribly excited
about my next novel, The Season of Stories. It’s my first foray into young adult literature and I believe it has
turned out quite, quite well. I can’t wait to see it in print.
Okay,
too much sugar for you today! Here’s a
nice cup of Chamomile tea and come on over and sit under the cabana and watch
the waves roll in. Now…can you tell us
what you love about being a published author and how all those things above
doesn’t matter because it’s all part of the whole scheme of things and you
wouldn’t have it any other way?
It is true. I wouldn’t have it
any other way. The only thing I can wish for now is a long, long life because I
have many, many more books to write.
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