The Storyteller: An Interview with Isabel Ibañez

Hi and welcome to Issue #13 of The Storyteller!

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It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of November, but there it is. I also can't believe that this newsletter is now thirteen issues old. There won't be one in December, unless there is interest in a one-off issue where I talk about the books I've read and enjoyed in 2020 with mini reviews and "similar to" recommendations - so let me know! I'm also deep into planning the line-up for 2021 so if there are any authors you'd love to see, drop me a line and I'll see what I can do :)

Today's guest is the lovely Isabel Ibañez. I read and loved her debut, Woven in Moonlight (reviewed here) back in August. This young adult fantasy novel is inspired by Bolivian culture, myths, and politics. The second book, Written in Starlight is out in early 2021 (more about it here) and Isabel is working on Together We Burn (out spring/summer 2022), a fantasy inspired by medieval Spain (more here).

Woven will be out in paperback on November 24 (all buying links are at the bottom after the interview) and Isabel is hosting a readalong of the book between December 1 and 22 (details here).

Now that all the housekeeping is out of the way, let's hear from Isabel!

AN: I know this is a very common first question, but can you tell us a little bit about how you became a writer—I know you're also a designer and illustrator—just an introduction to your journey and how you got to where you are right now.

Isabel: I actually wanted to be a writer before I wanted to be a designer. I studied creative writing in college and I attempted to get published back in 2007 and that did not go well. So in the interim I thought, you know what I'm going to go back to school to draw and illustrate. I thought I was going to be studying to be a children's book illustrator.

However, I took a detour and I started a stationery company! So my day job turned into designing greeting cards which was a lot of fun. It really took off, Crate and Barrel and Anthropologie were stocking my stuff, so writing was kind of on the backburner—I mean I was still writing, but you know how it goes. But I did miss writing. After I met my husband and we got married, we went on our honeymoon to Jamaica. It was where I was inspired to write a Latina pirate story. That story got me my agent but it did not sell.

So I went back to the drawing board. In the meantime, and I like to call this rather serendipitous but I got involved in Pitch Wars as a mentor (details) and found a bunch of really great writing friends who were very encouraging. It was during this time that I got the idea for Woven in Moonlight and started working on the draft. It eventually got sold to Page Street YA Publishing and well, that's how I ended up with my debut!

AN: Since we're on the topic of Pitch Wars, how did you decide to become a mentor and how has your experience been so far?

Isabel: I entered Pitch Wars in 2015 and I worked with a wonderful mentor for the manuscript I'd submitted—Megan Lally, she is absolutely fabulous. In 2016 I was invited to be a mentor and I wanted to give back. This is actually the first year since then that I won't be mentoring, and the reason is that I've just gotten so busy, but I've loved being a part of it and enjoyed my experience of working with different writers.

AN: What does your writing process look like?

Isabel: I usually start with a lot of daydreaming (laughs), thinking of different premises, particularly starting with the inciting incident and letting myself wonder how that person could have arrived there, why is that person there, and what would happen if this "bomb" went off in their lives. From there, I really like to know where I'm going. I'm a much faster and more efficient writer when I have an outline. Outlining gives me a road map, keeps me focused, and if I'm ever lost I can always turn to it. There is a lot of creative freedom while you're in the weeds of the story, and so there is much that still surprises me.

AN: Jumping off from that, does this mean that you always know how your story is going to end?

Isabel: Yes! (Laughs)

AN: And has one ever changed?

Isabel: No, it makes me very nervous if I don't know what I'm building towards. I have a really hard time relaxing or taking a breath in the story without knowing where I'm going to end up. I don't know if it speaks to my need to be in control (laughs). It just gives me a lot of comfort—even if everything else fails, I know where my characters need to be.

AN: What inspired Woven in Moonlight?

Isabel: My brother and I were the only two in our family to be born in the States. The rest were in Bolivia. I think this story really started with Ximena, the main character. During a lot of the civil unrest in Bolivia, many of my cousins, my family, both my parents who live half the year there, started taking part in the protests. The government was looking increasingly scary and things were unstable. There are so many South American countries that have suffered from a dictator-type government and we were terrified that Bolivia was headed in that direction.

I go to Bolivia routinely and up until I was 18, I lived there for three months in a year. The person who was running Bolivia, he was of indigenous descent. If Bolivia had to learn from its brutal history—you know they were conquered by the Spaniards and there has been an unfortunate and tragic mistreatment of the indigenous people—here was someone from a people traditionally oppressed and was now in a position of power. Imagine being able to bridge the gap and educate and using your influence for good. But, and it's a shame, it didn't go that route, which got me thinking - who would be the right person? Who did I think could step into that leadership role and get these disparate tribes together for this unified goal? That's how the Princesa character was born. 

The story is influenced strongly by the political climate of Bolivia—many of the policies and decisions are based on real events—and I wanted to represent that as faithfully and lovingly as I could, while also showing that it's not all black and white here.

AN: I noticed this nuance while reading the book. Is this something you set out to achieve from the start or did it grow from the story during the writing?

Isabel: When I was first writing this story, I really wanted Ximena to represent a perspective I was really familiar with. From my mother, I am descended from a Spanish family that came to Bolivia, but on my father's side, they grew up in the Amazon so they have a completely different heritage. I am a product of oppositional sides. When I am writing a character, I want to be careful and make sure that I understand how someone could go about changing their mind and what kind of response they (in this case, Ximena) would have. Someone who has been very secluded and fed a very specific story, a specific truth.

So I don't know if I set out with the intention of that nuance, but with Ximena, it was just what I thought to explore and the story just sprang from that. I love my evolutionary stories and I love reading about characters who are in the position to inspire change. But I did definitely want to show that revolutions can be nuanced and not everyone walks away with their hands clean or their beliefs unchanged.

AN: When you worked on Woven in Moonlight, did you always know there was going to be another book?

Isabel: I have always envisioned this series as a set of three books, but I don't know if I'll be able to, if I'll get to write a third book, or if there's a moment when it feels appropriate. It just depends on how well the series does and the readership—I'm thrilled that I could at least write Catalina's story (Written in Starlight).

Out of everyone in Woven in Moonlight, I really did not like her (laughs), but I also know, I have people in my life back in Bolivia who have her perspective, who have been very sheltered and kept apart, and I hope that one of the things that people can see as a theme is that I believe very firmly that exposure can be one of the most important things you can offer as a person - to observe and learn and maybe even fall in love with different perspectives.

Catalina has spent so much of her life trapped behind walls and so, of course, her perspective is going to be narrow and not one you would like at all. I wanted her to be exposed to the whole world that she was kept from and for her to finally complete her arc as a human being, recognising her faults, and also just who she is supposed to be and what role she is supposed to play in Inkasisa. What I found additionally interesting and challenging was that Catalina is not a fighter or a warrior. I wanted to explore what would happen if a person who couldn't even boil water was dropped in the middle of the Amazon (laughs). I'm excited for people to read her story. You still may not like her at the end, but I do hope you come to understand her a little bit better.

AN: How did you balance the magical and realism in the book and in the world that you built, which, as we've just discussed, is deeply rooted in the real world?

Isabel: Well, Bolivia to me feels very magical. It's a very whimsical, artistic, earthy type of society where—and I don't know how to describe this but—every time I go there I feel like I could really disappear into the jungle and stumble upon a lost city, or I could be looking up at the mountains and be so close to the stars that anything could happen. On top of that, Bolivia has such a rich artisanal heritage - among other things, many Bolivians are weavers and you can't go anywhere in Bolivia without seeing woven tapestries, and coin purses, and rugs. The vibrancy and colour of the community and society is represented in their art.

I knew that if I was going to include any sort of magic in my book, it was firstly going to be a nod to Pachamama, whom many people still believe in and revere, especially among the Indians, and secondly an homage to something Bolivians are known for—their weaving—and create something that felt true and familiar to the folklore that I grew up hearing.

The main thing with that is that Ximena is very angry and in order for me to sit inside her head I had to give her something soft and something I could recognise. When you're in a high-stress situation, many people are, and they have to be, strong, but I always wonder - who are you when you're not fighting for your life? For Ximena, she is this artist who has an affinity to create stuff with her hands. Ximena is a fighter and she is impulsive but she also has the soul of a creator and if she wasn't raised to be decoy, raised in a time of war, she would have lived a quiet life, opened up her weaving stall in the Mercado de las Brujas.

AN: While we're on the subject of creativity, I loved the cover design, and wasn't aware until recently that you'd done it yourself. How did that come about? It's not a very common occurrence in publishing!

Isabel: My publisher is awesome! My editor asked me if I knew any Bolivian artists we could contract to design the cover and I was like, well, I'm Bolivian, I'm an artist, can I do it? So I submitted my portfolio and she reviewed it along with the Page Street design team who loved it. They gave me complete freedom for which I'm very grateful. I was able to take all the different elements of Woven in Moonlight and have them shine on the cover. I also wanted it to be true to the artistic culture of Bolivia (bright, whimsical, beautiful) and I leaned into the folklore style that they have. So it's very playful, but if you look closely, there is blood and there are weapons on the cover. I've had feedback about how, based on that cover, many people didn't expect it to be as violent as it was and I always say "look closer"! (laughs).

AN: As both a writer and an artist/designer, do the two forms and processes overlap at any point?

Isabel: I am a very visual person. Aesthetics are very important to me. So when I'm thinking about a story, I am always thinking in terms of the clothing and the food, what's on the walls, what are people sitting on? I sketch out many of these scenes and also do character sketches, a colour palette. All these things combined create the whole picture of the story for me while I'm writing. My stories, my illustrations, even my lettering, all of them fit into one cohesive style that best represents my personality. Hopefully charming, unexpected, and happy!

AN: What draws you to the stories that you write?

Isabel: I really like stories that transport me, while grounding me to that time and place. I'm very intrigued by magic and the consequences and costs of practising magic. The other big thing is some kind of love story. I know people fall on one side or the other of this argument but I'm someone who always needs to have kissing in the books that I write and the ones that I read. Always (laughs).

When I was growing up, I loved to read but almost always I could never relate to the main character, and so the stories I'm writing right now, and I don't know if I want to be pigeonholed, all feature a Latina character, someone I would have identified with and seen a part of myself represented in. But it's tricky because there might come a day when I want to write a story and they're Scottish or something and I know that I'll have to make some choices but for now, this is the well I'm drawing from, so to speak.

AN: As someone juggling different roles, how do you balance them all?

Isabel: I'm quite terrible at it! (laughs) In all honesty, it's a work in progress. I have found out that as someone who really struggles with detail, I do better when I have a to-do list. I have a really supportive spouse. I was able to sell my stationery company and stay at home to focus on my writing. I also do a lot of freelance design. So, at the moment, I just look at my to-do and think about the 1 to 2 things I absolutely need to get done that day and go from there.

AN: Are there some things you wished you had known as a debut author that might help others in the same position?

Isabel: I think that I knew this in my head but it has taken several months for my book being out for me to understand this, but I'm a people pleaser and I'm very mindful, sometimes too much, of other people's feelings. I have had to sit down with this truth and realise that not everyone is going to like my book and that is okay. There is no way to make everyone happy. Write a book that you're proud of, write a book that you'd want to read, but don't write it for everyone, because that is a miserable road. The story will find its readers.

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Thank you, Isabel for speaking to me all the way from Florida and sharing your story with the readers of The Storyteller.

As always, I've included both mine and Isabel's social media links below. There are buying links as well, which include links through my own online affiliate shop for Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores. I have a separate section on there titled "The Storyteller newsletter" so you can access the relevant buying links for all the authors I've had on here so far.

If you enjoyed this and know someone who would, as well, please forward this to them! I'm also always up for a book (or general) chat so feel free to turn this into a conversation at any time by replying to the email, even if just to let me know your thoughts on an issue or if you have any feedback, but also if you must share with someone how awesome something is that you've recently read, watched, or listened to.

Thank you and until next time!

Anu

Currently reading: Fireflies by Luis Sagasti
Currently watching: A Discovery of Witches season 1 (finally!) and This is Us season 5
Latest writing: I don't have anything new out yet, but wanted to gauge interest in a printed chapbook featuring a selection of my flash and short fiction as well as an excerpt from the novelette I'm going to start sending out to publishers soon. I realised recently that many of my stories are no longer available to read either because the magazine is no longer online or they have been archived. Let me know if this is something you'd want to buy!

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Buying links

Woven in Moonlight
Written in Starlight
https://bookshop.org/shop/anushreenande