One of my favorite things about writing literary fiction is creating a believable story in the context of the novel’s setting. My newest tale, The Exile, is especially important for a few reasons.
- Although it takes place 10 years ago, the theme of immigration is especially timely.
- It provides an insider’s view of the 2007/2008 mortgage meltdown.
- It’s important to tell stories from a minority (and especially female) viewpoint.
Inspiration for This Literary Fiction
Dance has played a major role in my life for more than two decades. Through my experiences in Latin dancing, such as tango and salsa, I developed a strong affinity to Latin American culture and built many deep and lasting friendships with people from all parts of Latin America.
The idea for The Exile came from wanting to portray, in a fictionalized, romanticized way, some of the challenges of assimilation faced by Latin Americans, especially now in the face of so much ethnically charged antagonism and government policy. I thought this backdrop of conflict would make a compelling love story.
On a larger scale, I thought that by telling a literary fiction story, especially a love story, it could pull people into the human side of the issue of immigration, particularly when it involves family separation, and perhaps help people to see it all in a new way. After experiencing Leila’s story, I hope readers walk away with greater compassion for minorities in this country, especially those from Latin America.
Choosing Leila’s Country of Origin: Building Conflict in Literary Fiction
When deciding which Latin American country to choose for Leila’s background, I picked Colombia because of its tempestuous recent history. This provided a compelling backstory for Leila and her father. In addition, I appreciate the country’s rich culture, particularly music and dance.
Key Research Takeaways
Research is a big part of any novel I write. As I immersed myself in research for The Exile, I was shocked by just how badly deportees are treated. Naturally, in a suspenseful literary fiction novel, a writer is motivated sometimes to make things extra dramatic; I really didn’t have to do that at all when it came to the descriptions of Leila’s deportation. Accounts that have come to light over the last year or two, after I completed the novel, have made that all the more clear and actually ended up making The Exile even more timely.
I hope you enjoy my latest novel, arriving April 6th. You can preorder your copy on Amazon today.