My Story Book Club discussion
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What Night Brings
What Night Brings
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Monica
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Mar 20, 2013 03:27PM
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Hi all, I'm happy to be here>
--Carla
Monica wrote: "Welcome, Carla! We're so excited to have you join us."
Monica wrote: "Join us at 5 p.m. PST on March 28th for a live discussion with Carla Trujillo, author of What Night Brings."
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Anyone want to discuss aspects about the novel that intrigued you?
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Monica wrote: "Your novel encompasses so many different themes - heritage, abuse, lgbt - what was the original impetus for telling this story?"I didn't have a particular impetus. I simply started writing and this story poured out of me.
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Monica wrote: "Yes, I am interested in the themes. Which one felt the most urgent to you?"Carla wrote: "Monica wrote: "Your novel encompasses so many different themes - heritage, abuse, lgbt - what was the original impetus for telling this story?"
I didn't have a particular impetus. I simply started..."
I think allowing Marci to feel free to love whoever she wanted was super important to me.
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I wanted Marci to be young enough to still think God (or whomever)would change her into a boy ... when she got to a certain age, she simply had to realize that that wasn't going to happen. So I needed her to be right at the pre-teen point in her life.
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They are intertwined. Marci is both a lesbian, or more specifically, queer, and she's Chicana. The church intersects with her life, as it does with many Chicanos/as.
Monica wrote: "How important was Marci's sexuality in relationship to her being Chicana?"They are intertwined. Marci is both a lesbian, or more specifically, queer, and she's Chicana. The church intersects with her life, as it does with many Chicanos/as.
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Monica wrote: "What was the reaction to the novel in the Chicana religious community?"Most of the general feedback from many in the Chicano community was surprisingly positive. People told me they wanted to "unlearn" their homophobia and this helped them. The novel has also been picked up in High Schools and many colleges.
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Monica wrote: "Your novel is inspiring in that it has so many minority elements, but Marci doesn't surrender to victimization. Was that a conscious choice?"I think so. I wrote this novel without a particular outline or agenda. But I think I didn't want Marci to be a victim. It was important that she remain strong despite all the challenges she faced.
A former professor at UC Berkeley, Norma Alarcon, once made a comment I hadn't realized: Marci never cried . . .
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Monica wrote: "I love that. Was this novel shaped by your own personal experience or more from a cultural standpoint?"I shaped it somewhat from my personal experience, in that I loved girls as a kid, and did think at the time that I needed to change into a boy. But when I started to write autobiographically, it was really boring. So I gave myself permission to write as freely as possible and this story poured out of me. Writing fiction is very challenging, but I found it to be a lot more fun. I hope the readers agree.
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Monica wrote: "I am sure they do! Do you have a favorite aspect of this novel? I know it's difficult to toot your own horn, but..."Hmm, a favorite aspect? I think I was surprised so many young folks, and I'm talking about kids of color in junior high and high schools liked Marci and the novel.
People had lots of questions about the mother--why she stayed with the father despite his treatment of her and the two girls.
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Monica wrote: "It's been great chatting with you and thanks for joining us. Any other questions out there?"I'm happy to entertain any pressing questions folks might be interested in asking.
Monica wrote: "Carla, any parting words?"I have written a second novel, Faith and Fat Chances, centered in New Mexico which was a finalist for the PEN Bellwether prize (shopping for a "home" for it), and I'm revising a third novel. So I'm still writing and still enjoying it!
